Zerion

Zerion is a private messenger. Online messaging runs over Tor, so your IP address stays hidden from the people you talk to and from the Tor relays in between (your provider can see you use Tor). There's no phone number, no email, and no account on anyone's server. Your data lives encrypted on your own device; no Zerion server keeps a copy.

One-to-one, group and mesh messages are end-to-end encrypted with hybrid post-quantum cryptography: today's proven algorithms together with the new NIST quantum-resistant ones. Channels and account transfer use Tor and classical cryptography. Keys move forward as you talk, so a key taken today cannot decrypt messages recorded earlier. If large quantum computers arrive sooner than expected, the content of past messages stays protected.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• One-to-one chats, end-to-end encrypted
• Group chats up to a few dozen people
• Voice calls over Tor, on by default, plus opt-in beta video calling
• Send photos, videos, voice notes, and documents
• Disappearing messages, with an optional default timer for new chats
• Stickers
• Introduce two of your contacts to each other, securely
• A built-in vault for passwords, notes, and private files, with search and sort
• Back up your account to an encrypted file, or move it to a new phone over Tor
• Channels, a one-to-many broadcast layer with optional discussion threads
• Translated into more than 35 languages

CHANNELS

One person writes, many people read.

• Public channels: anyone with the invite link can subscribe
• Private channels: only people with the private invite link can read
• Discussion threads: the owner decides, per channel, whether subscribers can reply
• Reactions, pinned posts, and attachments
• Mute notifications for any channel
• Subscribers are not listed to each other; people who comment or react are visible to all

HARDENED MODE (OPT-IN)

Three independent protections under Security settings, all off by default:

• Refuse to start on tampered devices (unlocked bootloader, modified system)
• Refuse to start when a debugger, root, or hooking framework is detected
• Sign out automatically, or wipe, if USB debugging or file transfer is switched on

PRIVACY AND SECURITY

• Tor, mandatory and always on while online. Online messaging never bypasses it; the optional Bluetooth mesh is off by default, and Offline mode turns off all internet messaging
• No phone number, no email, no central server
• No telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting
• No logging in Zerion's code, verified at build time
• Encrypted at rest with SQLCipher and a key derived from your password
• Screenshots blocked inside the app by default
• Notifications never reveal message contents
• Sensitive copies are cleared from the clipboard after 60 seconds while the app runs
• Fully open source, GPL v3, reviewed internally before each release

UNDER THE HOOD

• Hybrid post-quantum key exchange (X25519 + ML-KEM-768)
• Hybrid signatures (Ed25519 + ML-DSA)
• Forward-secret message ratcheting
• Calls encrypted with AES-256-GCM; storage with SQLCipher (AES-256)

SUPPORT THE PROJECT

Zerion is free and open source, with no ads, no trackers, and no investors. If you'd like to help keep it independent, you can donate:
https://zerion.chat/donate.html

WHO IT'S FOR

People who want to talk to other people without a third party in the middle. Journalists and their sources, activists, lawyers and their clients, people in countries that block secure messengers. Anyone who doesn't want to hand a phone number to a tech company every time they install a messenger.

WHAT IT WON'T DO

• It won't message people who aren't on Zerion
• Online messaging needs an internet connection for Tor; the optional Bluetooth mesh can carry messages between nearby phones without one
• It won't restore your account if you forget the password. There is no recovery, and that's the point

LEARN MORE

• Website: https://zerion.chat
• Source: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion

GPL v3.