SummaryHighlight in a few words why it is interesting | XMPP video calls and GPS for Android |
P2P chat over LAN, BT and Tor |
Conversations fork with SIPTo implement features of use to the Sopranica project
XMPP video calls for Android |
Persistent messenger over Tordecentralized, privacy-preserving, multi-party messaging protocol that can be used to build metadata resistant applications
Group chat over email, user apps |
XMPP video calls for desktop |
Playful design for Matrix |
XMPP chat for desktopWith LAN-mode
GNUnet Messenger service, GTKEarly alpha. Provide private and secure communication between any group of devices.
Default on Apple platforms |
P2P chat, video calls and SIPDecentralized chat, voice calls, videoconferencing and SIP client
P2P chat, video calls and file sharing |
Chat, files and identity proofE2EE chat, storage, file sharing and git repositories, can connect with communities from Twitter, Reddit, and elsewhere for account verification
P2P social network on LAN/WANP2P social network over LAN or WAN with everything stored on your device, for desktop and mobile
Extensible protocol to bridge allAssume using Matrix Synapse as server, Element matrix client
P2P video calls for LANP2P Voice/Video phone App over local networks
Fork of Signal with hardening |
XMPP for iOS |
blabber.im (Conversations) forkTo improve privacy an usability
Quality group calls with low latency |
Polished Telegram FOSS forkSoft fork with proxies, options, actions, ergonomy, formerly Nekogram X
Native desktop Matrix appC++20 and Qt, to compete with mainstream proprietary messengers w
Chat over untrusted serverno centralized user directory w
Ephemeral chat on Torw w w
Multi-account, multi-protocol pluginsUniversal chat client which lets you log into accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. Common choice for XMMP, with LAN-mode. w
P2P chat over a blockchainDecentralized trustless P2P communication protocol w w
Internet Independent Wireless Mesh Communication App w w |
IRC client and bouncerModern, cross-platform, distributed IRC client with local server backend w
P2P team chat on TorAlternative to team chats, all data syncs directly between a team's devices over Tor with no server required w
F2F social network, P2P on Torcross-platform, Friend-2-Friend and secure decentralised communication platform w
Chat and calls on AndroidSecure Multimedia Messenger
Matrix Element bubble chat forksoft fork of Element with classic look w with message bubbles, unified chat list, bigger room list items w
Onion routed Signal fork, no phoneno phone numbers, onion-like routing through "oxen network" w oxen network w Lokinet onion router w overview in FAQ w
Anonymous P2P over meshCommunicate with LXMF-compatible systems over Reticulum networks using LoRa, Packet Radio, Wi-Fi, I2P, Encrypted QR Paper Messages w w
Chat, video calls by phone number w |
Libre Signal fork, no blobsSoft fork of Signal for Android with proprietary Google binary blobs removed, uses OpenStreetMap for maps and a websocket server connection w
Signal fork with more optionsSignal for Android with additional options and small customization features w
Uses relays, protects metadata, no user profile IDs (not even random)Decentralized end-to-end encrypted messenger focusing on meta-data protection and avoiding any user profile identifiers w
Chat and video calls, landlineChat, voice and video calling app with opt-in E2EE owned by Microsoft w Paid calls to landline and cellular numbers are a possible option
P2P on WAN relay or LANEcho communications through Android w Features rundown in digestible format w
Expiring chat and photosAmerican photo messaging application w
Chat, calls and blogChat, calls and in-app blogging platform with opt-in E2EE w Client is open source, server is not. E2E encryption isn't enabled by default
Libre Telegram fork, no blobsFOSS-friendly soft fork of Telegram Android w
|
Paid, anonymous, for home or workPaid and proprietary end-to-end encrypted instant messaging service. w
P2P random ID over DHTNameless DHT messenger w
Chat and video calls, landlineProprietary, option for paid landline and cellular calls via Viber Out w
Chat, video calls by phone numberPopular messaging app by Meta/Facebook w
Ephemeral chatCleaning oriented messenger w Centralized messenger with focus on getting rid of it's tracks, and every message is temporary, and it can't be disabled. w
Features as spec extensionsCommunication protocol that multiple clients use in this chart. w
Paid chat on blockchainMessaging app powered by the quantum-resistant and decentralized xx network w
Chat, video calls for workE2EE cross-platform chat, voice and video calls messenger with an option to register w/o phone number. Also optional paid tiers w
Freemium video calls w |
ScreenshotsList URLs in the details (TODO: gallery widget) | w |
|
|
|
|
w |
w w w |
|
w w w w |
w w |
conversation on ios 15.5 w w w w
|
|
w |
|
w |
w w w
|
|
w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Android Google Play
| yes w |
yes w |
no w |
paid w |
currently in testing w w |
yes w |
no |
yes w |
no |
no |
no |
yes w |
not full featured w w |
yes w w |
yes w |
yes w w |
yes w |
no |
no w |
nonone uploaded, but source code contains mentions
3rd party w |
no |
no |
yes w |
only client via Tor BrowserJavaScript required
no |
no w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
no |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
no |
yes w w |
no |
no |
yes w |
yes w |
no |
yes w |
yes w |
no |
|
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
yesw
yesw
|
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
Google Play version(automatically generated release and Android API version) | 2024-05-16: 4.1.0 33.0MB (Android 7.0+) |
2024-05-10: 1.5.11 56.4MB (Android 5.0+) |
|
2024-06-04: 2.15.3+playstore ? (Android 6.0+) |
|
2024-06-10: 1.46.2 56.0MB (Android 4.1+) |
|
2024-06-03: 1.21.0 82.7MB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
|
2024-06-01: 20240529-01 91.9MB (Android 7.0+) |
2024-06-04: 3.3.1 96.9MB (Android 7.0+) |
2024-05-30: 6.3.1 151.3MB (Android 5.0+) |
2023-10-10: 0.2310.9-beta-googlePlay 49.4MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-04-08: 1.6.14 72.1MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-02-10: 4.2.7 8.4MB (Android 4.4+) |
|
|
|
2024-04-04: 3.6.10 6.3MB (Android 4.0+) |
|
|
2024-06-10: 2.2.1 85.2MB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
|
2024-05-10: 2.0.0-beta.18 33.3MB (Android 8.0+) |
2024-05-08: 1.6.2-33-ge4e3abb5 4.3MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-04-10: 2.1.2 38.0MB (Android 8.0+) |
|
2024-03-22: 1.1.0.1640 33.3MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-06-05: 1.6.16.sc78 151.9MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-05-31: 1.18.4 97.4MB (Android 6.0+) |
|
2024-06-03: 7.8.1 61.5MB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
2024-06-05: 5.8 99.3MB (Android 8.0+) |
2024-05-30: 8.120.0.207 71.0MB (Android 8.0+) |
|
2024-06-10: 12.90.0.46 146.9MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-06-07: 10.13.4 132.4MB (Android 6.0+) |
|
|
2024-05-06: 5.3.1 ? (Android 5.0+) |
2022-02-23: 0.7.3 14.4MB (Android 4.4+) |
2024-05-31: 22.8.0.0 173.2MB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-06-12: 2.24.13.5 54.8MB (Android 5.0+) |
2023-02-03: 6.2.7 43.2MB (Android 8.0+) |
|
2022-08-26: 2.92 48.5MB (Android 8.0+) |
2024-05-31: 4.7.1(9803154)-prod 118.5MB (Android 8.0+) |
2024-06-04: 6.0.12.22225 184.6MB (Android 6.0+) |
Android F-droid/apkyes=f-droid.org, partial=apk or separate repository | yes w |
yes w w w |
yes w |
yes w |
apk w w |
F-droid w apk w |
no |
yes w |
no |
no |
no |
yes w |
no w |
no |
yes w w |
yes w |
yes w |
partial w |
no w |
yes w w |
3rd party w |
yes w |
no |
no wdiscussing it
only client via Tor BrowserJavaScript required
no |
2018w w beta, requires server
apk w |
yes w |
no w wsupport is on the way
not anymoreold package removed, libretroshare for android is still maintained w
|
yes w w |
yes w w w |
apk w |
apk wavoids f-droid w
repo w apk w |
apk w |
yes w w w |
no |
yes w |
no |
no |
yes w |
|
Regular F-Droid and own F-Droid repository w apk wThreema Libre version in regular F-Droid w and own F-Droid repository without Google services w
yes w w |
no w |
partial wsee "Package installer"
noNeither can an apk be dowloaded from their site, as they link directly to Google Play
|
apk yes, F-droid no.the apk is a bit hard to find on the website. look for "android source code" section, there it is.
yes w |
|
F-droid version(automatically generated release and Android API version) | 2024-05-17: 4.1.0 64MiB (Android 7.0+) |
2024-05-17: 1.5.11 56MiB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-05-30: 2.15.3-1+free 27MiB (Android 6.0+) |
2024-06-09: 2.16.4+free 26MiB (Android 6.0+) |
|
2024-03-16: 1.44.0 28MiB (Android 4.1+) |
|
2024-06-05: 1.21.0 84MiB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
|
2024-06-02: 20240529-01 91MiB (Android 7.0+) |
|
|
2023-02-06: 0.2302.2-beta-fdroid 45MiB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-05-03: 1.6.14 74MiB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-05-09: 4.2.8 19MiB (Android 4.4+) |
|
|
2024-05-09: 1.7.9.6 45MiB (Android 6.0+) |
2024-04-09: 3.6.10 8.6MiB (Android 4.0+) |
2023-10-04: 9.3.3 74MiB (Android 4.4+) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2022-03-14: 1.6.2 4.6MiB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
|
2024-06-09: 1.6.16.sc78 76MiB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-06-05: 1.18.4 107MiB (Android 6.0+) |
|
|
|
|
2024-06-09: 5.8 61MiB (Android 8.0+) |
|
2024-01-07: 2024.01.05 3.9MiB (Android 7.1+) |
|
|
2024-05-22: 10.12.0 78MiB (Android 4.4+) |
|
2024-05-17: 5.3.1l 109MiB (Android 5.0+) |
2024-05-17: 1.0.231 59MiB (Android 5.0+) |
|
|
|
|
|
2022-09-02: 3.82.38 35MiB (Android 7.0+) |
|
Other mobileAlternative phones like KaiStore, Blackberry, OpenStore, PureOS, Microsoft Store | no |
|
|
|
|
no w |
|
|
|
no |
|
|
no w |
|
|
KaiOS unsupported w |
no |
no |
no w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
no w |
|
|
|
no |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
no |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other AndroidAlternative app stores like Amazon Appstore, Huawei App Gallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, Opera Mobile Store, Aptoide, GetJar, Uptodown, Applivery | |
|
|
|
|
yes w w w |
|
|
|
no |
|
|
no w |
|
|
|
yes w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
not yet w |
partial w w |
|
|
|
IzzySoft w |
|
|
|
yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Huawei w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Apple iOS
| no |
no w w |
no |
no |
not yet available w w |
yes w |
no |
yes w |
no |
no |
yes |
yes w |
not full featured w w |
yes w |
|
yes w w |
no w |
no |
yesw w
no |
unmaintained since 2017 w |
no |
no |
|
only client via Tor BrowserJavaScript required
no |
no w |
TestFlight w |
yes w |
not yet w |
partial w w |
|
no |
yes w |
no |
yes wiPad as a secondary device w
no |
no |
yes w |
yes w |
|
yes w |
yes w |
no |
|
yes |
no w |
yes w |
yesw
yesw
|
yes w |
yes w w w |
|
| Desktop
| no |
Linux, Windows, macOSShould be now full featured w w w w w w
no |
no |
Linux, Windows, MacOS w w |
macOS, Windows, LinuxMac App Store, dmg, Homebrew, Microsoft store, exe, flathub, deb, rpm, AppImage, tar.gz, AUR, Nix w
Linux, FreeBSD wunsupported macOS Homebrew w "official unofficial" Windows client: w w help and bugreports: w
yes w w |
Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD Ports w |
Flatpak w or source w w |
Included in MacOSNot downloadable or available on other platforms
yes w w |
macOS Linux Windows w w |
macOS w Windows w Linux w |
|
yes w w w |
no |
no |
macOS, breww w
no |
Linux, Windows, MacOS w w w |
no |
yes w |
|
server and clientLinux, Windows, MacOS w w
FreeBSD/Linux/macOS/Win w |
2018 OS X, Windows w Linux wAppImage in the future w
yes w |
yes w |
Linux, Mac, Windows w |
Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD Ports w |
|
yes w |
Linux and Windows w |
Linux, Windows and macOS w |
as secondary device w w w |
no |
no |
Terminal CLI w w Desktop wDesktop 5.3 alpha, chat and attachments only, group-joins, no voice or video calls.
yes w |
|
no |
yes w |
no |
|
only if mobile online |
Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, MacOSw w w w qTox w archived since 2023-02-12 and unmaintained
only a remote/syncNo full or partial desktop client, app is phone centric
yesw
Linux, MacOS, Windowsw
|
no w |
yes w w |
|
| Web
| no |
noOnly app, no web client
no |
no |
no |
no w |
no |
yes w |
no |
no |
no |
no w |
no w w |
some account functionality and encrypting/decrypting messagesAccount changes can be locked to be only possible through client apps w
|
yes w |
no |
no |
no w |
yes w |
|
no |
no |
|
only client via Tor BrowserJavaScript required
no |
no wdefunct w
no w w |
|
no |
partial w w |
|
yes w |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes w |
|
coming soon to web w |
yes w |
no |
|
only if mobile online |
no w |
no |
yesweb.whatsapp.com
no |
|
no w |
|
|
LanguagesThe higher the amount of people reachable the better. No=1 language, partial=2-3, yes=many global ones | 7 w |
many w |
34 w |
54 (21 full) w |
14 w |
14-48 w w w |
39 w29 full, 4 medium, 6 some
12+ w |
37 w4 full, 4 medium, 29 some
English |
|
many w w |
English, Spanish, Russian w |
English only |
|
many w w |
7 w |
70+ w |
10English Basque Chinese French German Italian Polish Spanish Turkish Ukranian w
31 w |
|
46 w |
24 w |
|
many w |
105 w |
|
13 w |
|
|
|
|
many w |
many w |
|
100+ w w w |
100+ w |
100+ w |
12-14English Chinese Czech Dutch French German Italian Japanese Polish Portuguese Russian Spanish w
many w |
|
many w |
many w |
many w |
|
16 w |
|
yes |
|
|
|
1 w |
|
|
| Protocol
| Jabber/XMPP |
Bramble (aka BTP) |
Jabber/XMPP |
Jabber/XMPP |
w |
SMTP and IMAP with AutoCrypt w |
Jabber/XMPP |
Matrix |
Jabber/XMPP |
GNUnet w |
iMessage |
SIP, OpenDHT w |
Keet, Pear |
SaltPack, NaCl + MessagePack w |
|
Matrix |
WebRTC w |
Signal Protocol w |
Jabber/XMPPw w
Jabber/XMPP |
Mumble w |
MTProto w |
Matrix |
|
unnamedBuilt on top of Tor
Jabber/XMPP, multipleBonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, Zephyr + extendable via plugins w
BitMessage w |
Noise Protocol w w |
IRC |
libp2p/IPFSw w w
|
|
Matrix |
Session protocol, fork of Signal protocol w |
Reticuluminfrastructure-less w w
Signal Protocol w |
Signal Protocol w |
Signal Protocol w |
SMP, Signal Protocol w |
proprietary w |
Echo w |
|
MTProto w |
MTProto w |
|
|
Tox protocol w |
homebrewViber's security protocol was based on the "double ratchet" protocol found in Open Whisper Systems Signal application, with our own proprietary implementation and additions. Our entire security overview is available here. w
signal protocol w |
Wickr Secure Messaging Protocol (Home browed) |
XMPP |
blockchain and mixnetxx blockchain coin based on Praxxis with xx cMix mixnet privacy layer
|
|
Protocol openyes=can be implemented based on published detailed specification, no=no source published, partial=needs reverse engineering based on rough specs or source code | yes |
BTP - a transport layer security protocol for delay-tolerant networks w |
yes |
yes |
yes w w |
yes w |
yes |
yes w |
yes |
yes w w |
no |
yes w |
noparts of the protocol are described in prose or have example source code, but not enough to implement a client from via clean room w w
yes w |
|
yes w |
undocumented |
yes w |
yes |
yes |
yes w w |
yes w |
yes w |
|
not documentedNeed to reverse engineer from source code
some yes |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
|
|
|
yes w |
prose, sourceout of date in prose w w need to reverse engineer from source
yes w w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w w w |
no |
|
no |
yes w |
yes w |
|
ARP open w others in prose w |
yes w w |
no |
open protocol, no way to verify because closed service platform |
no |
yes w |
|
|
|
| Server license
| |
|
|
|
MIT w |
various (any SMTP and IMAP server) |
|
|
|
|
Proprietary |
Nameservice GPL-3.0-only w OpenDHT GPL-3.0-or-later w |
proprietary |
proprietary |
|
Apache-2.0 w |
N/A |
AGPL-3.0-only wmissing sources for CDN0 S3/CDN2 GCS and abuse control w
|
|
BSD-3-Clause w w |
proprietary |
|
proprietary |
GPL-3.0-only w |
|
|
AGPL-3.0-only w |
|
|
|
proprietary |
|
GPL-3.0-only w MIT w |
|
AGPL-3.0-only wmissing sources for CDN0 S3/CDN2 GCS and abuse control w
AGPL-3.0-only wmissing sources for CDN0 S3/CDN2 GCS and abuse control w
AGPL-3.0-only wmissing sources for CDN0 S3/CDN2 GCS and abuse control w
AGPL-3.0-only w |
proprietary |
|
proprietary w |
proprietary |
proprietary |
|
proprietary: Chat, Directory, Media |
AGPL-3.0 w wCC-BY-SA-4.0 for website w
proprietary |
proprietary |
proprietary |
various |
proprietary |
|
proprietary |
| Client license
| Apache-2.0 w |
GPL-3.0-or-later w Desktop AGPL-3.0 w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
MIT w |
GPL-3.0-or-later w |
GPL-3.0-or-later w w |
AGPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
AGPL-3.0-only w |
Proprietary |
GPL-3.0-or-later |
nosome libraries used by keet are published under Apache 2.0, but not enough to build a client from w
BSD-3-Clause w |
|
Apache-2.0 w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
2BSD w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
BSD-3-Clause w w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
AGPL-3.0 w w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-2.0-only w |
MIT w |
AGPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w w |
GPL-3.0-only w w |
|
proprietary |
Apache-2.0 w w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
CC-BY-NC-SA w |
Android GPL-3.0-only w iOS GPL-3.0-only w Desktop AGPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-3.0-only w |
AGPL-3.0-only w |
proprietary |
|
proprietary w |
GPL-2.0-only w TelegramSwift GPL-2.0-only w Desktop GPL-3.0-only w |
GPL-2.0-only w |
|
AGPL-3.0-only but paid |
GPL-3.0-only w |
proprietary |
proprietary |
proprietary |
various |
BSD-2-Clause w w |
|
proprietary |
| Register without app
| yes |
No registration necessary. |
yes |
yes |
No registration necessary. |
supports existing mailbox provider accounts w |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
Attached to Apple IDIf you have an Apple ID you already have an iMessage and just have to enable iMessage with that account on whatever apple device you are on. You can also have a phone sim with a phone number, in which case iOS will automatically register you for iMessage with that number upon boot.
no |
no w |
Web |
|
yes |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
|
no |
yes |
|
clients connect via Tor BrowserJavaScript required, accounts are per group, not per user, but the server does need an app to create each group account w
yes |
|
no |
yes |
no |
|
|
yes |
no |
|
noas a workaround, through the unofficial mautrix-signal matrix bridge with a custom HS
noas a workaround, through the unofficial mautrix-signal matrix bridge with a custom HS
noas a workaround, through the unofficial mautrix-signal matrix bridge with a custom HS
No registration necessary. |
|
|
no |
no |
no |
|
no |
no w |
no |
no |
no |
|
|
|
|
| User features | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Spell checkGrammar correction, languages | |
noNo spell check
|
|
not yet w |
no w w |
|
|
|
|
Included in all the platforms that iMessage supports |
|
no |
yes |
|
yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
yes |
|
|
|
|
|
Repliesno=cite-only, partial=jump to message by ID, yes=thread sidebar by conversation ID | nomissing XEP-0461 w
yes w |
nomissing XEP-0461 w
nomissing XEP-0461 w
cite w |
replies w w w |
repliesXEP-0461 w
replies w |
repliesXEP-0461 w
no |
replies w w |
cite w w w |
no |
no w w |
|
yes w w |
|
|
citemissing XEP-0461 w w
nomissing XEP-0461 w
|
|
yes w w |
|
|
nomissing XEP-0461 w
|
|
nomissing IRCv3 +draft/reply w
|
|
|
yes w |
|
|
replies w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
yes w |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group chatWhether they are persistent between restarts, chat log, file transfer, inline images, offline messaging | yesw OMEMO encryption in group chat session enhancing privacy and security
yes w |
yes |
yes |
experimental w group chats w |
yesw membership change is unicast
yes w |
yes |
yes |
yes w |
yes |
no w |
no history, desktops must be onlinew w w only available when desktops are online w w w chat history not shared w w
yes w w |
|
yes |
no w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes |
ephemeral, no logs w small images w |
yes |
yes |
|
yes w |
yes |
yes w w |
yes w |
yes |
One community/team only w |
|
|
yes |
closed groups (private) e2ee, open groups (public) not e2ee w |
|
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes w |
yes |
|
yes w |
yes |
yes |
|
implemented with unicast w w |
invite-only w |
yes w |
up to 256 members (higher with exploits)w
|
yes |
|
|
|
| Voice calls
| yesw
no | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |