Investigation into Message Layer Security (MLS)
This article investigates Message Layer Security (MLS), the IETF standard protocol (RFC 9420) for Signal-style end-to-end encryption. Through a practical analysis of OpenMLS (the Rust reference implementation) and a demonstration CLI chat application (mls-chat), the post reveals the substantial gap between protocol specification and production deployment. Introduction MLS (Message Layer …
An exploration of Wi-Fi Aware for Bitchat (and other ad-hoc networks) - HackMD
Bitchat is an open source peer-to-peer mesh communication network started in the summer of 2025 by Jack Dorsey. It's available on iOS, Android, and MacOS. Others have explored beyond this, with a terminal client and a self-powered ESP32-based mesh relay node. In theory, Bitchat enables cross-platform peer-to-peer messaging even when there's no cellular or Wi-Fi network available. In practice, it's not proven to be reliable in an offline environment. However, I believe it could be, and it's clear that the team agrees and is actively working toward that end.
Tinfoil Private Chat
Private AI chat application supporting open source models through Tinfoil
Wave - Secure Messaging App
Privacy-first messaging with quantum-level encryption. No signup, fully decentralized, zero tracking.
Threat Model
A private, p2p alternative to Slack and Discord built on Tor & IPFS - TryQuiet/quiet
ATSMS — end-to-end encrypted group messaging
Encrypted group messaging on AT Protocol identities, with no server ordering anything.
Key Agreement for Decentralized Secure Group Messaging with Strong Security Guarantees
Secure group messaging protocols, providing end-to-end encryption for group communication, need to handle mobile devices frequently being offline, group members being added or removed, and the possibility of device compromises during long-lived chat sessions. Existing work targets a centralized network model in which all messages are routed through a single server, which is trusted to provide a consistent total order on updates to the group state. In this paper we adapt secure group messaging for decentralized networks that have no central authority. Servers may still optionally be used, but they are trusted less. We define decentralized continuous group key agreement (DCGKA), a new cryptographic primitive encompassing the core of a decentralized secure group messaging protocol; we give a practical construction of a DCGKA protocol and prove its security; and we describe how to construct a full messaging protocol from DCGKA. In the face of device compromise our protocol achieves forward secrecy and post-compromise security. We evaluate the performance of a prototype implementation, and demonstrate that our protocol has practical efficiency.
Backend infrastructure - Tinfoil Documentation
This page provides a description of the different components that make up our backend infrastructure. It also describes how Tinfoil guarantees code auditability and data confidentiality using these components.
ATOM: AT Protocol Over MoQ Transport
This document specifies how the Authenticated Transfer (AT) Protocol can leverage Media over QUIC Transport (MOQT) for efficient data synchronization across decentralized social networks. The AT Protocol's firehose event stream and repository synchronization mechanisms map naturally to MOQT's publish/subscribe model, enabling scalable relay infrastructure, priority-based delivery, and improved resilience for large-scale social data distribution. This specification addresses the challenges of the current WebSocket- based transport and demonstrates how MOQT's relay architecture, group-based caching, and multiplexed streams provide significant benefits for AT Protocol deployments at scale.
Soatok’s Informal Guide to Threat Models - Dhole Moments
After a long day of exhausting conversations about Hybrid Post-Quantum Cryptography, random jackasses trying to play gotcha with endpoint attacks against end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, and me…
An End-to-End Encrypted Peer-to-Peer Chat System with Self-Sovereign Identity
Today, messaging applications are the most popular medium of communication over the Internet. As their use has grown, different security and privacy concerns have received the attention of users. Users consider what they send with others to be private, tamper-proof and secure without getting exposed to unintended entities. Furthermore, users are concerned whether their data is exposed if the service provider encounters any cyber attack. In this paper, we propose a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)-based End-to-End Encrypted Peer-to-Peer (E2EE P2P) chat system that does not rely on any specific provider, enhancing user privacy and security. The system leverages decentralized identifiers (DIDs) to establish secure communication channels using the DIDcomm (DID Communications) protocol, which ensures the privacy of user data. We also introduce a secure file sharing mechanism that ensures that all data, including messages, are stored solely on the user's device, further safeguarding user privacy. The system is developed following the Design Science Methodology, addressing probable threats and satisfying different functional and security requirements. The architecture and its implementation details are discussed with the subsequent use cases and protocol flow. Finally, we analyze different aspects of the system.
Decentralised Identity 🤝 Mesh Networking - Thinking with portals
How you can invite your Bluesky friends into your Tailscale network using an OIDC shim
Tinfoil Chat - Onion-routed, endpoint secure messaging system