SimpleX Chat: secure messenger 4+
Privacy redefined: no user IDs
SimpleX Chat
-
- Free
iPhone Screenshots
Description
SimpleX Chat - a private & encrypted open-source messenger without any user IDs (not even random ones)!
To send messages, make a private connection via link or QR code.
SimpleX - the first messaging platform without user identifiers of any kind (not even random numbers) - 100% private by design!
Security assessment by Trail of Bits: https://simplex.chat/blog/20221108-simplex-chat-v4.2-security-audit-new-website.html
SimpleX Chat features:
- end-to-end encrypted messages, with editing, replies and deletion.
- disappearing messages with opt-out per contact/group.
- message reactions.
- delivery receipts, with opt-out per contact or group.
- multiple chat profiles, with hidden profiles.
- app access and self-destruct passcodes.
- incognito mode - unique to SimpleX Chat.
- sending end-to-end encrypted images and files.
- voice messages up to 5 minutes – also end-to-end encrypted.
- "live" messages – they update for all recipients as you type them, every few seconds - unique to SimpleX Chat.
- single-use and long-term user "addresses".
- secret chat groups - only group members know the group exists and who is the member.
- end-to-end encrypted audio and video calls.
- connection security code verification, for contacts and group members – to protect from man-in-the-middle attacks (e.g. invitation link substitution).
- end-to-end encrypted push notifications (they contain only encrypted meta-data, not the actual content).
- encrypted portable chat database - you can transfer your chat contacts and history to another device.
- all local files and media are encrypted by default.
- animated images and "stickers" (e.g., from GIF and PNG files and from 3rd party keyboards).
SimpleX Chat advantages:
- privacy of your identity, profile, contacts and metadata: unlike any other existing messaging platform, SimpleX uses no phone numbers or any other identifiers assigned to the users - not even random numbers. This protects the privacy of who you are communicating with, hiding it from SimpleX platform servers and from any observers.
- complete protection against spam and abuse: as you have no identifier on SimpleX platform, you cannot be contacted unless you share a one-time invitation link or an optional temporary user address.
- full ownership, control and security of your data: SimpleX stores all user data on client devices, the messages are only held temporarily on SimpleX relay servers until they are received.
- decentralized proxied peer-to-peer network: you can use SimpleX Chat via your own relay servers and still communicate with people using pre-configured or any other SimpleX relay servers.
- fully open-source code.
You can connect to anybody you know via link or scan QR code (in the video call or in person) and start sending messages instantly - no emails, phone numbers or passwords needed.
Your profile and contacts are only stored in the app on your device - relay servers do not have access to this information.
All messages are end-to-end encrypted using open-source double-ratchet protocol; the messages are delivered via relay servers using open-source SimpleX Messaging Protocol.
Please send us any questions via the app (connect to the team via the app settings!), email chat@simplex.chat or submit issues on GitHub (https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/issues)
Ream more about SimpleX Chat at https://simplex.chat
Get source code in our GitHub repo: https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat
Follow us on Reddit (r/SimpleXChat/), Twitter (@SimpleXChat) and Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@simplex) for the latest updates.
What’s New
Version 5.6.1
New in v5.6.1:
- reduced memory usage (by 20-25%).
- improved notifications stability.
- fixes to message layout.
New in v5.6:
- quantum resistant end-to-end encryption (BETA) – enable for the new contacts (see the blog post).
- migrate all app data to another device via QR code (see the blog post).
- use the app during the audio and video calls.
- admins can block a member for all other members.
- faster leaving and deleting groups.
- reduced memory usage when sending large files.
- improve chat message rendering.
- filtering chats no longer includes muted chats with unread messages.
Also, we added Hungarian interface - thanks to the users and Weblate (https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/tree/stable#help-translating-simplex-chat).
Read more: https://simplex.chat/blog/20240323-simplex-network-privacy-non-profit-v5-6-quantum-resistant-e2e-encryption-simple-migration.html
Ratings and Reviews
Good so far
Loving it so far, fast and very easy to use. The only thing I feel is missing that I need is the ability to either include images with the groups welcome message or the ability to pin certain selected photos in the group so new joiners are able to see them as well without them being resent. Other than that great experience so far, keep up the good work !
Voiceover experience needs major improvements
Great concept and the basic stuff works for me in a functional sort of way. However, the interface makes navigating through the thread of messages using iOs Voiceover nearly impossible. I have to swipe (navigate to next item) about 10 times to get from one message to the next. I don't know what Voiceover is having to go over since none of it is spoken, but this interface is extremely inefficient, time consuming, and not at all how messaging apps should be. iMessages, Signal, etc, all the messages are right next to each other. Just one swipe from one to the next. Also, the date is spoken too soon after the message. On the outside where your connections are listed, it also takes 3 swipes to get from one to the next when it really only needs one. There are a few unlabeled elements and a lot of things have weird labels. I feel accessibility has not been given a high enough priority. I love, absolutely love what this app is supposed to do, but in the state it's in right now, I can't use it. Thank you for all the work you've done so far and I'm looking forward to future improvements.
Self deleting message settings confusing
5 stars but I can see security issue arising from how the app handles self deleting messages .. it is confusing to say the least. One simple (optional) global setting for all chats that sets default self destruct timer for all chats on both sender/receiver (or if two users set different timer should force lowest value of the two and notify chat participants). Message control is critical part of security onion and should not be overlooked. Also, the app should use more secure iOS data protection class (NSFileProtectionCompleteUnlessOpen) to protect against local forensic attacks (cellbrite, greykey). This overlooked feature of iOS allows apps data to be encrypted while device is AFU and is better & safer than rolling your own crypto for local app level encryption.
Developer Response ,
Thank you, and thanks for the suggestions!
We could indeed use that class for all files (but the trade-off here is that the notifications wouldn't be able to be processed until the app is open, which probably not what most users want), but having separate encryption per file has two advantages and no downsides:
1) it protects them both while the app is open (sent/received images and received voice messages are not stored to storage unencrypted even temporarily to be shown/played), and while app data archive is in transit,
2) it has forward secrecy (unlike system level encryption), as each file is encrypted with its own key.
And we are certainly not "rolling our our crypto" anywhere in the app - a standard NaCl secret_box construction is used to encrypt each file.
App Privacy
The developer, SimpleX Chat, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- SimpleX Chat Ltd
- Size
- 202 MB
- Category
- Social Networking
- Compatibility
-
- iPhone
- Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- Apple Vision
- Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- Languages
-
English, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2022 SimpleX Chat Ltd
- Price
- Free