Molly
A security-hardened fork of Signal for Android with an encrypted local database and Tor support.
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About Molly
Molly is a fork of the Signal Android app that connects to the Signal network, so you keep your contacts and groups. It adds a passphrase-encrypted local database, automatic locking, RAM shredding, optional routing through Tor, and a build without any Google dependencies.
It is free and open source (AGPL-3.0-only) and is installed from its own F-Droid repository, Accrescent or GitHub rather than Google Play. Because it follows Signal releases, new Signal features can arrive later.
Strengths
- Encrypts the local app database with a user passphrase
- Supports UnifiedPush notifications without Google services
- Molly-FOSS build contains no proprietary blobs
- Reproducible builds and compatibility with Signal contacts and backups
Limitations
- Android only
- Registration uses a phone number able to receive SMS or calls, or linking as a Signal linked device
- UnifiedPush requires access to a MollySocket server and is unavailable for linked devices
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source; donations via Open Collective
- License
- AGPL-3.0-only
- Developer
- Molly Instant Messenger (mollyim)
- Platforms
- Android
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Required
- Works offline
- No
- Best suited for
- Signal users on Android who want extra local hardening or Google-free push notifications
- Categories
- Messaging
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus Resource Hub (Secure Messaging); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 12 sources on file.
Alternatives to Molly
Compare allSoftware that can replace Molly for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Signal
An end-to-end encrypted messenger for calls and chats on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, run by a nonprofit.
Signal is the upstream app, available on every platform and in the app stores; Molly only exists for Android and adds hardening on top.
Session
An encrypted messenger with no phone number and no account, routed through an onion network.
Session drops the phone number requirement and uses onion routing, but cannot talk to Signal contacts.
SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user identifiers at all, not even a random one, so there is no account to correlate.
SimpleX Chat avoids any user identifier and runs on many platforms, but is a separate network from Signal.
Threema
Swiss encrypted messenger that works without a phone number or email.
Threema needs no phone number and is Swiss-based, but requires a one-time purchase and does not reach Signal contacts.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
signal-cli
Send and receive Signal messages from the command line.
FluffyChat
An open-source Matrix chat client with end-to-end encryption, spaces and optional UnifiedPush notifications.
Gotify
Self-hosted push notification server with a web interface and Android app.
