In some cases a person may want to use decentralized communications that would be censorship-resistant. Some of these apps use the internet, some use the cell phone system. Here are some suggestions to try.
About apps that do not require internet. One way they do this is by using peer-to-peer communications (P2P). But in order for P2P to work you must be near someone else who is also running the same app, so your message will be sent on down the network. What this also means is your device must always be on and the app running so if the app finds another person running that app, it can send your messages to their destination. This also means it can take hours or days for your message to get to its destination depending on how many people you meet (are in range) that are running the app. Also you must not let your phone sleep, because then that means the app is not running and cannot send or receive messages.
Does not require internet
- Briar – An ultra-secure peer-to-peer instant messenger that connects to contacts via Direct Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Tor over the internet, keeping its users protected from surveillance and censorship. https://briarproject.org/
- Bridgefy. Uses Bluetooth, with or without the internet or cell network. On Apple store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bridgefy/id975776347. For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.bridgefy.main&hl=en_US. Story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2019/09/02/hong-kong-protestors-using-mesh-messaging-app-china-cant-block-usage-up-3685/#23653f80135a
- Scuttlebutt (New Zealand). A decent(ralised) secure gossip platform that no company can control and also happens to also work offline without internet. Scuttlebutt is a protocol on which many different kinds of apps can be built. As for the social network, there are many clients, just like there are many Twitter clients. It doesn’t really matter which one you use. They’re all talking on the same network. It uses Markdown formatting. https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ Docs: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/getting-started. Windows client called Patchwork: https://ahdinosaur.github.io/patchwork-downloader/
Requires internet
- Mesh chat. https://mesh.im. Get a secure, anonymous, peer-to-peer instant messenger. One messenger for Internet and LAN chat with end-to-end encryption. Still in alpha testing.List of apps from Privacytools. https://www.privacytools.io/software/real-time-communication/
- Signal. Signal is a mobile app developed by Open Whisper Systems. The app provides instant messaging, as well as voice and video calling. All communications are end-to-end encrypted. Signal is free and open source. Make crystal-clear voice and video calls to people who live across town, or across the ocean, with no long-distance charges. Send high-quality group, text, voice, video, document, and picture messages anywhere in the world without SMS or MMS fees. Keep your chat history tidy with messages that you can set to disappear. Choose different disappearing message intervals for each conversation. Everyone in the thread shares the same setting. Good memories will last even if the words vanish. Supported by Ed Snowden and Bruce Schneier. https://signal.org/
- Wire. (Now a pay service for 4 euros per month.) End-to-End Encrypted chatting application that supports instant messaging, voice, and video calls. Full source code is available. https://wire.com/
- XMPP – Federated instant messaging protocol with OMEMO, OTR, or OpenPGP end-to-end encryption. https://xmpp.org/
- Compare secure chat apps. https://securechatguide.org/effguide.html
