Alternatives to Sideband
Messaging client for Reticulum networks over radio or IP. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Sideband
Messaging client for Reticulum networks over radio or IP.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Sideband.
Briar
Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Tor.
Briar works without internet over Bluetooth and local Wi-Fi rather than radio, needs no Reticulum network, but both devices must be online at once.
Cwtch
Metadata-resistant messaging over Tor with no central servers.
Cwtch sends metadata-resistant messages over Tor with no central servers, requiring internet access and both parties online instead of radio links.
Berty
An open-source peer-to-peer messenger that works without central servers and can operate offline.
Berty is a serverless peer-to-peer messenger for Android and iOS that works offline, but does not use Reticulum or radio links.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Jami
A fully peer-to-peer communication platform with no servers relaying your data and no personal information needed to sign up.
Session
An encrypted messenger with no phone number and no account, routed through an onion network.
SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user identifiers at all, not even a random one, so there is no account to correlate.
Delta Chat
A messenger that sends over email, so anyone with an address can be reached without installing it.
RetroShare
A decentralized, encrypted friend-to-friend network for chat, mail, forums, channels and file sharing.
