# Off-the-Record chats **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Proposal\ **Created:** [August 30, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/off-the-record-chats/1181 "2020-08-30T15:24:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 8
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://forum.delta.chat/user_avatar/forum.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://forum.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/off-the-record-chats/1181/8 "2020-08-31T19:50:28Z")
> [@mbeko](#): > > The last time I used OTR, it worked only when both sides were online. This is an annoying requirement by itself and I think the experience won’t be better with a client like Delta Chat that has no online status indicator. That’s true, for OTRv3 users need to exchange messages to start a chat. That is why I talk about “pending” OTR chats above. The chat has to be accepted by the other side before you can send messages into it. But there is no need for presence status (“online status indicator”) for OTR to work. It even works over IRC. You can try to open an OTR chat and keep using normal chat until your contact is online and accepts OTR chat. The only interactive part is the key exchange, after which devices can send messages while the other device is offline. As a side note, OTRv4 has an option to start chat with offline contact in the [current version of specification](https://bugs.otr.im/otrv4/otrv4/-/blob/26357955fbe843be486fec3f24d468d7141eb457/otrv4.md): > [@](#): > > An OTRv4 conversation may begin when the two participants are online (an interactive conversation) or when one participant is offline (non-interactive conversation). It depends on sharing prekeys via some (not necessarily trusted) channel, though, so it is hardly an option for DC. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.delta.chat/t/off-the-record-chats/1181)._