Free Software Collection
Free Encrypted Messaging and Meeting Apps
End-to-end encryption is a marketing line now; every mainstream messenger prints it. The real differences sit in two places: whether encryption is on by default or hidden behind a "secret chat" toggle, and how much of the layer beyond content survives — who contacted whom, when, how often, and who is in your address book. That layer is metadata, encryption does not cover it, and it is enough to reconstruct someone's social graph. This list is ordered by metadata exposure, from phone-number registration down to no account at all.
12 curated recommendations
Selection Criteria
- End-to-end encryption is on by default, not an optional mode you have to switch on.
- The protocol is public and the client is open source and auditable.
- Registration requirements are stated per tool — phone number, email address, or nothing at all.
- Self-hostable servers are called out separately.
Recommended Tools
Signal
End-to-end encrypted messaging where privacy is the default, not an option
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user identifiers at all
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Session
No phone number, no email — just a random ID
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Element
Email, but for chat — an open protocol with a server you can own
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Delta Chat
Chat over email — the other person does not even need the app
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Proton Mail
Swiss end-to-end encrypted email with a free tier that covers everyday use
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Jitsi Meet
Share a link and start a meeting — no seat caps, no 40-minute timer
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Mumble
The lowest-latency voice chat, running on your own server
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Zulip
Group chat organized by topic — hundreds of people without the flood
- Open Source
- No Ads
- Cross-platform
- Self-hostable
Jami
Chat and video calls with no central server — your account is a key pair on your device
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Briar
Keeps talking when the internet is down — Bluetooth and Wi-Fi direct, Tor when online
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
FluffyChat
A Matrix client that looks like an ordinary messenger, for people who do not want to tinker
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
FAQ
- Which is realistic for everyday use?
- Signal. Its protocol is the de facto industry standard, and several mainstream messengers use it as their encryption layer. Encryption is always on, the interface is indistinguishable from an ordinary messenger, and it costs the least to persuade family to install. The price is phone number registration, which means the server knows which number uses it.
- And without giving a phone number?
- SimpleX Chat and Session want neither a number nor an email. SimpleX is designed without user identifiers at all — contacts establish one-way queues through single-use invitation links, so no table of who-is-who exists on a server. Session uses onion routing over a decentralised node network, also with no account. In both cases the user base is far smaller than Signal's, so you have to bring the other person along. Jami and Briar also need no number or email, with the account living only on your device; Briar can even pass messages over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi when the internet is down.
- What should a team self-host?
- Element against a Matrix server, or Zulip. Element speaks an open protocol so separate servers interoperate, with end-to-end encryption available. Zulip's strength is topic-threaded organisation, where a discussion among hundreds of people does not collapse into mush, which suits open-source communities and distributed teams; the self-hosted build is complete.
- What about meetings?
- Jitsi Meet — open a browser, no client, no registration, send the link. It can be self-hosted. For a persistent voice room to leave open while gaming or working together, Mumble gives low latency and light bandwidth on a server you run.
- Why is Delta Chat on this list?
- Because it treats email as the transport. No new account — your existing address talks to their existing address, with messages end-to-end encrypted through the Autocrypt standard. Having no central chat server means no company holds your social graph; underneath is the mail infrastructure that has been running for decades.