# Paired devices

> Each phone or browser pairs with your computer the first time it opens a session, and you can remove any device from the app, the dashboard or the terminal.

Source: https://bitsrun.com/docs/remote/devices/
Updated: 2026-11-09

**Pairing** means your computer and a device exchange keys once, so later sessions can be encrypted between them without any setup. A device can only pair if it is signed in to your BitsRun account.

## How pairing works

1. A phone or browser signed in to your account opens one of your live sessions.
2. Your computer checks that the device belongs to your account and pairs with it. The terminal names every device that joins, for example "Pixel joined from your BitsRun account."
3. From then on the device joins your sessions on that computer without asking.

We email you when a new device pairs and when a new device, app or command line signs in, so you notice anything you did not do.

### Ask before each new device

If you want the terminal to ask before a device joins for the first time, add this to your bitsrun `settings.json`:

```json
{ "remotePairing": "ask" }
```

The terminal then shows "Pair this device with this computer? It will see this session, send prompts and approve changes." Choose **Yes, pair it**, or **No** if you did not just open the session on that device.

## See and remove devices

On the web, open **API keys** in the dashboard. The **Remote control** section lists the computers that ran `/remote` and the phones and browsers that can follow them, with when each was added and last used.

![The API keys page in the dashboard with sample data: two API keys, one signed-in CLI, a Remote control section listing a computer named MacBook Pro with a Remove button, and the Hugging Face token form.](https://bitsrun.com/docs/img/api-keys-full.png "Remote control devices are listed on the API keys page.")

Click **Remove** next to anything you do not recognize. In the app, open **Account**, then **Devices and sign-ins**.

Removing a device ends its sessions at once. It can pair again only after you approve it on your computer. A removed device can never read new sessions.

> [!WARNING]
> If you lose a phone, remove it from the dashboard right away, then sign out of BitsRun on that phone if you get it back. Your bitsrun sessions keep running on your computer.

## Related

- [Sessions and devices](https://bitsrun.com/docs/account/sessions-and-devices/) for signed-in command lines and apps
- [Remote control](https://bitsrun.com/docs/remote/)