ChatSecure is a messaging application for
iOS which allows
OTR and
OMEMO
OMEMO is an extension to the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for multi-client end-to-end encryption developed by Andreas Straub. According to Straub, OMEMO uses the Double Ratchet Algorithm "to provide multi-end to multi-end e ...
encryption for the
XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an Open standard, open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Ext ...
protocol. ChatSecure is
free and open source software
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a Software license, license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term ...
available under the
GPL-3.0-or-later license.
ChatSecure has been used by international individuals and governments, businesses, and those spreading
jihadi propaganda.
As of July 2023 the app haven't received any updates in almost two years.
History
ChatSecure was originally released in 2011, and was the first iOS application to support OTR messaging. In 2012, ChatSecure formed a partnership with
The Guardian Project and the Gibberbot app was rebranded to "ChatSecure Android".
In late 2016, the
Android branding partnership was ended, with ChatSecure Android becoming 'Zom', and ChatSecure iOS remaining as ChatSecure. ChatSecure iOS remains in active development and is unaffected by this change. Version 4.0 was released on January 17, 2017.
ChatSecure is censored from the
App Store
An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Reception
In November 2014, "ChatSecure +
Orbot" received a perfect score on the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties.
It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...
's "Secure Messaging Scorecard";
the combination received points for having communications encrypted in transit, having communications encrypted with keys the provider doesn't have access to (
end-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a method of implementing a secure communication system where only communicating users can participate. No one else, including the system provider, telecom providers, Internet providers or malicious actors, can ...
), making it possible for users to independently verify their correspondents' identities, having past communications secure if the keys are stolen (
forward secrecy), having the code open to independent review (
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
), having the security designs well-documented, and having a recent independent security audit.
See also
*
Comparison of instant messaging clients
*
List of free and open-source iOS applications
References
External links
*
{{Cryptographic software
IOS software
Free mobile software
Free XMPP clients
Software using the GNU General Public License
Free software programmed in Objective-C
Free software programmed in Swift