DarkSpeak is a Linux-first, secure and private peer-to-peer instant messenger
It was originally inspired by the now-dead TorChat app.
Latest blog posts
- How DarkSpeak came to be
DarkSpek was a response to Government overreach and crackdowns on free speech and privacy.
- Why not mobile-first like all the other IM apps?
It's not just about poor privacy on mobile devices. It's also about technical limitations on those platforms.
- Dreaming up features
This page contains my wish lists for features.
How it works
The app uses the Tor network for communication. Each identity you create gets its own onion address. It uses its onion address in the same way traditional apps use TCP to allow other apps to connect to it.
The protocol allows messages and file transfers to go through simultaneously in both directions over one connection. Messages get priority, so you can chat with your friends without delays caused by large file transfers.
There are no hubs or backend services. Everything happens in the app. No metadata leaks to a 3rd party, unless they can monitor your and your friends' internet connections, or monitor the Tor relays you and your friends are connected to. The protocol pads messages with random bytes to make even such attacks harder. An adversary may deduce that you send a message or transfer a file, but they don't know the exact length of the message or file — making it harder to deduce the content using statistical analysis.
The protocol is documented on GitHub.
As simple and secure as possible
AI poses a huge threat to modern software - especially complex software. If something is complicated, it's hard for our human brains to comprehend it and to get the code right, but it's easy for AIs to find the flaws and exploit them. That makes high-complexity technology dangerous to use when privacy and security are important.
DarkSpeak tries to mitigate that risk by avoiding unnecessary complexity. For every feature I add - I try to find the simplest and most secure way to implement it.
The app allows you to be as paranoid as you please. You can turn off features that use libraries and algorithms you are uncomfortable with, down to and including Unicode. For file transfers, you can specify what MIME types you allow.
No ads or "telemetry"
The app is ad-free. It's also free from any form of telemetry. No data is collected for any purpose or shared with anyone for any purpose.
Linux first
DarkSpeak is a Linux-first application. I plan to add Android and iOS apps - but they'll still need a PC or laptop to be running to accept incoming messages or relay outgoing messages. Windows makes no sense for this app. It's just spyware with ads at this time.
If you want privacy, use Linux, and install it with opsec in mind. Then install DarkSpeak and enjoy private conversations.
Beta warning
The app is currently in beta. It needs some use and review from both experienced developers and frontier AI models before it can be trusted to be mostly correctly implemented and secure.
Use it with care for now. Have fun, but be aware that there may be unknown problems that can expose your real identity or break the encryption.
Download
- You can download the latest Flatpak bundle for Linux at GitHub