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Berty Messenger for iOS and Android - Zero Trust Open Source Peer-to-Peer Messenger based on IPFS protocol (berty.tech)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

** Now in Android and iOS app stores **

No Face, No Name, No Number, No SIM card, No Internet! Berty is a messenger that doesn’t require any of your personal data or network connection (using Bluetooth Low Energy BLE). All conversations are encrypted with end-to-end encryption, in a fully distributed network.

It is a peer-to-peer messenger with no servers, no cloud - your data is only stored on the device where Berty is installed and used. No one would be able to access the data or shut the app down, not even the developers.

Being P2P, it means the IP address needs to be available to route messaging, but their site explains a bit about how they've tried to mask this. Whilst Briar is an excellent alternative, it is still Android only. The closest alternative is maybe Jami, but it lacks a non-Internet Bluetooth alternative if I recall correctly. Interestingly, Berty also can use Airdrop (iOS to iOS) and Android's Nearby as alternative protocols.

You can share your details and add contacts via a QR code, public key, or an invite link. It is currently available on both iOS and Android, with desktop clients to follow.

See https://berty.tech/

#technology #messenger #berty #P2P #IPFS #privacy

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Been looking for a good offline messenger. Going on a cruise soon. I want to chat with my family. Will have access to the ships WiFi but not internet. Dont want to pay the $100s for a weekend. By biggest hurdle is being on iOS and android. Most apps are not on iOS.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Was attemptingtoo download this open source app but its not on fdroid?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

iOS especially is a problem for WiFi enabled apps or cell to cell direct. Could also maybe look at SimpleX https://simplex.chat/.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Does simplex work offline?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Actually no, sorry I see SimpleX is via a server. But why would Berty not work as it is offline and does iOS as well? Tox is another option https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tox_(protocol) but bear in mind their point made, that if there is no central server used, both (or all) clients needs to be actually online for any connection. There is no store and forward server in the middle.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It may. seems like it only connects via bluetooth LTE. That range is not ideal. Will be testing it one of these days.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

i've been using berty for a couple of months now, not as a primary messenger, but more so in situations where I want to transfer some information in the form of text/images/videos in situations where there is no internet connection

it has some issues, but it's relatively robust imo

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Any idea how it compares to Briar by chance?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

i'm not familiar with briar, so i can't really tell :(

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

They sound quite samiliar, with Berty you have to have the recipient on the app as well, ya? In other words no SMS/MMS messaging I believe from the break down? Briar is marketed for activists and journalist being a decentralized and encrypted messager which works without WiFi and can be routed over Tor.