# Help / FAQ

## Following

**What is following?**<br>
Following in Patchwork is like following in Twitter. It means you'll see the posts and actions of the person you follow.

**Can I talk to the people I follow?**<br>
Only if they follow you. If you want to converse with somebody, you'll both need to follow each other.

## Pubs

**What are Pubs?**<br>
Pubs host users' feeds and files on the public Internet.
Without a Pub, you won't be able to reach anybody outside of your WiFi, so you want at least one.

**How do I join a Pub?**<br>
Ask the Pub's operator for an invite-code. You can use the invite-code in Patchwork to join the Pub.

**Can I change Pubs?**<br>
Yes. You can change Pubs, and use more than one at once.

**Why do Pubs exist?**<br>
SecureScuttlebutt is a peer-to-peer network, but not all users can connect to each other because of inherent limitations of the Internet.
Pubs ensure that everybody can participate.

**How do I create my own Pub?**<br>
See [HOWTO: Setup a Pub](https://ssbc.github.io/docs/scuttlebot/howto-setup-a-pub.html)


## Privacy

**Who can read my public messages?**<br>
Anybody can, even if they're not following you when you make the post.

**Who can read my channel messages?**<br>
Anybody can. Channel messages are public.

**Who can see my profile, and who I follow?**<br>
Anybody can (currently). Profiles are public.

**Who can read my private messages?**<br>
Only the recipients. Private messages are encrypted end-to-end, so not even Pub operators can read them.

**Who can see which messages I open, or what I search for?**<br>
Nobody. Patchwork runs on your device, so nobody can track your clicks around the application.