# Open-source messengers

18 open-source messengers rated against public privacy criteria.

1. [Briar](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/briar/): A (94/100). Peer-to-peer encrypted messenger for Android and desktop that syncs over Tor, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Messages, forums and blogs are stored only on users' devices.
2. [Ricochet Refresh](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/ricochet-refresh/): A (94/100). Desktop instant messenger that runs each user as a Tor onion service and connects contacts peer to peer, hiding identity, IP address and metadata. Maintained by Blueprint for Free Speech.
3. [Session](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/session/): A (94/100). End-to-end encrypted messenger that uses a random Account ID instead of a phone number and sends messages through onion routing over a decentralized network of community-operated nodes. Stewarded by the Session Technology Foundation in Switzerland.
4. [SimpleX](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/simplex/): A (94/100). End-to-end encrypted messenger that has no user identifiers of any kind, not even random ones. Messages pass through relay servers that anyone can run.
5. [Berty](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/berty/): B (89/100). Peer-to-peer, end-to-end encrypted messenger built on IPFS by the French non-profit Berty Technologies. It needs no phone number or email and can exchange messages offline over Bluetooth and local networks.
6. [Cwtch](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/cwtch/): B (89/100). Decentralized, metadata-resistant messenger from the non-profit Open Privacy Research Society. Contacts talk peer to peer over Tor onion services, and optional group chats use untrusted servers that anyone can run.
7. [Quiet](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/quiet/): B (89/100). Peer-to-peer team chat, similar to Slack, that runs without servers: community members' devices sync messages directly over Tor. The developers warn it is not yet audited.
8. [Conversations](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/conversations/): B (83/100). XMPP (Jabber) client for Android that works with any standard XMPP server, with OMEMO end-to-end encryption on by default for one-to-one and private group chats.
9. [Tox & qTox client](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/tox-qtox-client/): B (83/100). Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging protocol with no central servers, and qTox, its desktop client for chat, voice, video and file transfer. qTox is now maintained by the TokTok project after the original repository was archived.
10. [Dino](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/dino/): B (78/100). Desktop XMPP (Jabber) client for Linux built with GTK, with group chats, file transfers, and voice and video calls. OMEMO end-to-end encryption is on by default for one-to-one and private group chats.
11. [Molly](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/molly/): B (78/100). Independent fork of the Signal Android app that connects to the Signal network and adds database encryption with a passphrase, UnifiedPush notifications and a Molly-FOSS build without proprietary Google components.
12. [OpenPGP](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/openpgp/): B (78/100). Open standard for public-key encryption and signing of messages and files, defined in RFC 9580. It adds end-to-end encryption to existing channels such as email, through implementations like GnuPG.
13. [Signal](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/signal/): B (78/100). End-to-end encrypted messenger for text, voice and video calls, and groups, built on the Signal Protocol. Run by the non-profit Signal Foundation.
14. [XMPP](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/xmpp/): B (78/100). XMPP, also known as Jabber, is an open standard for federated instant messaging maintained by the XMPP Standards Foundation, with many independent clients and servers.
15. [Jami](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/jami/): B (75/100). Peer-to-peer encrypted messenger from the GNU project for text, audio and video calls, screen sharing and conferences, with apps for desktop and mobile.
16. [Gajim](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/gajim/): C (69/100). Desktop XMPP (Jabber) client for Linux, Windows and macOS that works with any standard XMPP server, with group chats, file transfer and optional OMEMO or OpenPGP end-to-end encryption.
17. [Wire](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/wire/): C (61/100). End-to-end encrypted messenger and team collaboration app from Switzerland, with chats, calls and file sharing using Proteus and MLS. Accounts use an email address, and organizations can self-host federated backends.
18. [Matrix](https://privacyratings.com/messengers/matrix/): D (58/100). Open standard and federated network for real-time chat and calls, with end-to-end encryption through the Olm and Megolm protocols. Anyone can run a homeserver, and many clients such as Element support it.

Source: https://privacyratings.com/open-source/messengers/