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Session

Onion-routed private messenger with no phone number

Chat & Communication ★ 585 stars Medium setup GPL-3.0

Session is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that routes messages through a decentralized onion network of community-operated nodes. It requires no phone number or email to sign up.

Official siteSource code

Key features

  • Onion-routed message delivery
  • No phone number required
  • Decentralized service node network
  • End-to-end encryption

Pros & cons

Strengths

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in TypeScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM

Trade-offs

  • Relies on the Session node network
  • Message delivery can be slower

Session replaces

Self-hosted Signal alternativesSelf-hosted WhatsApp alternativesSelf-hosted Telegram alternatives

Compare Session

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