** Now in Android and iOS app stores **
No Face, No Name, No Number, No SIM card, No Internet! Berty is a messenger that doesn’t require any of your personal data or network connection (using Bluetooth Low Energy BLE). All conversations are encrypted with end-to-end encryption, in a fully distributed network.
It is a peer-to-peer messenger with no servers, no cloud - your data is only stored on the device where Berty is installed and used. No one would be able to access the data or shut the app down, not even the developers.
Being P2P, it means the IP address needs to be available to route messaging, but their site explains a bit about how they’ve tried to mask this. Whilst Briar is an excellent alternative, it is still Android only. The closest alternative is maybe Jami, but it lacks a non-Internet Bluetooth alternative if I recall correctly. Interestingly, Berty also can use Airdrop (iOS to iOS) and Android’s Nearby as alternative protocols.
You can share your details and add contacts via a QR code, public key, or an invite link. It is currently available on both iOS and Android, with desktop clients to follow.
#technology #messenger #berty #P2P #IPFS #privacy
Been looking for a good offline messenger. Going on a cruise soon. I want to chat with my family. Will have access to the ships WiFi but not internet. Dont want to pay the $100s for a weekend. By biggest hurdle is being on iOS and android. Most apps are not on iOS.
Was attemptingtoo download this open source app but its not on fdroid?
iOS especially is a problem for WiFi enabled apps or cell to cell direct. Could also maybe look at SimpleX https://simplex.chat/.
Does simplex work offline?
Actually no, sorry I see SimpleX is via a server. But why would Berty not work as it is offline and does iOS as well? Tox is another option https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tox_(protocol) but bear in mind their point made, that if there is no central server used, both (or all) clients needs to be actually online for any connection. There is no store and forward server in the middle.
It may. seems like it only connects via bluetooth LTE. That range is not ideal. Will be testing it one of these days.
Some lines have their own messenger in the form of a local web app you can pin to your phone. It’s not perfect because you can only receive messages if you open it, but at least it’s free and it stores any message you send when your target is offline.