SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user identifiers at all, not even a random one, so there is no account to correlate.
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1 more ways to get SimpleX Chat
Package managers
- Flathub
flatpak install flathub chat.simplex.simplex
About SimpleX Chat
Most private messengers replace your phone number with a random ID. SimpleX does not issue one. Each conversation uses its own pair of one-way message queues on relay servers, established by scanning a QR code or opening a link, so there is no account that links your conversations together.
Messages use double ratchet end-to-end encryption with an extra encryption layer for the relays. Servers are simple enough that people run their own, and the desktop, Android and iOS apps all talk to whichever set you choose.
Strengths
- No user identifier of any kind, so conversations cannot be correlated by account
- Double ratchet encryption with an additional layer for the relay servers
- Servers are simple to self-host, and you choose which ones to use
- Desktop, Android, iOS and a terminal client
Limitations
- Connecting means exchanging a link or QR code in person or elsewhere
- No contact list means a lost device is a lost set of conversations unless backed up
- iOS previews come through TestFlight, capped at ten thousand users
- Younger than the alternatives, with fewer eyes on the implementation
Details
- Pricing
- Free · Free and open source under the AGPL 3.0. The company is funded by investment and donations.
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Developer
- SimpleX Chat Ltd
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Conversations where even a random account identifier is too much metadata
- Categories
- Secure messaging
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Messaging); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Signal
An end-to-end encrypted messenger for calls and chats on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, run by a nonprofit.
Session
An encrypted messenger with no phone number and no account, routed through an onion network.
Molly
A security-hardened fork of Signal for Android with an encrypted local database and Tor support.
Element
The reference Matrix client: end-to-end encrypted chat on a network you can host yourself.
