SimpleX
Security assessment was done by Trail of Bits in November 2022.
SimpleX Chat features:
- end-to-end encrypted messages, with editing, replies and deletion of messages.
- sending end-to-end encrypted images and files.
- single-use and long-term user addresses.
- secret chat groups - only group members know it exists and who is the member.
- end-to-end encrypted audio and video calls.
- private instant notifications.
- portable chat profile - you can transfer your chat contacts and history to another device (terminal or mobile).
- encrypted app database and files in the app storage (except videos).
- 18 interface languages.
SimpleX Chat advantages:
- Full 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 network: you can use SimpleX with your own servers and still communicate with people using the servers that are pre-configured in the apps or any other SimpleX servers.
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 - our servers do not have access to this information.
All messages are end-to-end encrypted using open-source double-ratchet protocol; the messages are routed via our servers using open-source SimpleX Messaging Protocol.
Please send us any questions via the app or submit an issue on GitHub.
Follow us on Mastodon, Twitter and Reddit for the latest updates.
Once you install SimpleX Chat, "connect to developers" for any questions, to share feedback, and to discover the groups (the link for directory service will be in response).
GitHub Download SimpleX Website SimpleX Bugtracker Donate Help translating SimpleX
Usage
SimpleX is available as an AppImage which means "one app = one file", which you can download and run on your Linux system while you don't need a package manager and nothing gets changed in your system. Awesome!
AppImages are single-file applications that run on most Linux distributions. Download an application, make it executable, and run! No need to install. No system libraries or system preferences are altered. Most AppImages run on recent versions of Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, and other common desktop distributions.
Running SimpleX on Linux without installation
Unlike other applications, AppImages do not need to be installed before they can be used. However, they need to be marked as executable before they can be run. This is a Linux security feature.Behold! AppImages are usually not verified by others. Follow these instructions only if you trust the developer of the software. Use at your own risk!
Download the SimpleX AppImage and make it executable using your file manager or by entering the following commands in a terminal:
chmod +x ./*.AppImageThen double-click the AppImage in the file manager to open it.
Sandboxing SimpleX
If you want to restrict what SimpleX can do on your system, you can run the AppImage in a sandbox like Firejail. This is entirely optional and currently needs to be configured by the user.
Updating SimpleX
If you would like to update to a new version, simply download the new SimpleX AppImage.
Integrating AppImages into the system
If you would like to have the executable bit set automatically, and would like to see SimpleX and other AppImages integrated into the system (menus, icons, file type associations, etc.), then you may want to check the optional appimaged daemon.
Note for application authors
Thanks for distributing SimpleX in the AppImage format for all common Linux distributions. Great! Here are some ideas on how to make it even better.
Pro Tips for further enhancing the SimpleX AppImage
Please consider to add update information to the SimpleX AppImage and ship a .zsync file so that it can be updated using AppImageUpdate. Tools like appimagetool and linuxdeployqt can do this for you easily.
Thanks for shipping AppStream metainfo inside your AppImage. Please open a pull request on https://github.com/AppImage/appimage.github.io/blob/master/data/SimpleX if you have changed it and would like to see this page updated accordingly.