Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux




Briar is described as 'Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer messaging that bypasses centralized servers. Connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Tor, with privacy built-in' and is a very popular instant messenger in the social & communications category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Briar for a variety of platforms, including Android, Linux, Windows, Mac and iPhone apps. The best Briar alternative is Signal, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Briar are Element, Telegram, Matrix and Tox.








A simple mesh network communications app powered by the Reticulum Network Stack.

SchildiChat is a Matrix client based on Element with a more traditional instant messaging experience.




Sphinx.chat lets you use your lightning node to talk to anyone else who is running lightning and a sphinx compatible chat client.




VeilidChat is a 1-to-1, person-to-person text only chat application which serves as a technology demonstration for the Veilid application development framework. All communication is end to end encrypted, authenticated, private routed, and peer-to-peer. It's currently in early beta.



Integrating Bridgefy allows mobile devices to communicate in a secure and efficient way across large distances, without having them depend on access to a Wi-Fi network or a data plan.



Ricochet Refresh is the new updated version of Ricochet, supported by Blueprint for Free Speech.. We are a non-government, not-for-profit organisation working to safeguard the freedom of expression for whistleblowers, activists, and everybody else, worldwide.




Vector encompasses the ideals of freedom through free and open-source technology, using a "Privacy by Principle" approach. This means that privacy is not a feature or add-on, but the core foundation that Vector is built upon, which is granted and accessible to everyone.
signal-cli is a commandline interface for the Signal messenger. It supports registering, verifying, sending and receiving messages. signal-cli uses a patched libsignal-service-java, extracted from the Signal-Android source code.
Skred is the first secure peer-to-peer instant messaging app - No need for an email address or phone number to use it.
Skred is free, without subscription, without a provider, without a SIM card, and without leaving a trace.




At this point in the digital world, our personal digital metadata – not just our messages, but data about who talks to whom, when, and where – has been marketed, auctioned, and monetized hundreds of thousands of times over.




Anonymous messaging platform just like Briar. But, less developed.