Stolo is an encrypted messenger that built off of Reticulum and LXMF
Out of the box it is a private, end-to-end encrypted messenger: no account, no phone number, no sign-up. Your identity and your history live only on your device, and Stolo's gateway relays your messages across the internet.
When you need more, the same app becomes your own network. Create a network, share one invitation, and everyone who joins is in each other's contacts, trusted, automatically. Phones link directly over Wi-Fi and cellular, and optional long-range LoRa radios carry messages where there is no signal at all. Messages to someone out of range wait and are delivered when they come back.
What you can send, on or off the grid:
• Messages, photos, and voice notes, end-to-end encrypted. Only the people in the conversation can read them. Not us.
• Live GPS positions on a built-in offline world map. See yourself and your team with zero connectivity.
Under the hood, Stolo is built on Reticulum, the open cryptographic mesh stack, and sets up in a minute with no config files.
Used for backcountry trips, maritime, job sites, disaster response, and everyday group chats that should stay between the people in them.
Built on privacy. Works every day, everywhere, and keeps working when nothing else does.
With all the other mainstream applications these days sharing data and making messages public this is a great change of pace. Also super great that I can stay in touch with people near me without WiFi or Cellular!
Solid app
KingGuba
Easy to use, intuitive, love the privacy features and ability to quickly connect with just the people that are important to me
Great app
Spence3535!
This is sick! So hyped to have something where my messages are safe and sound
GPS Bugs
Kzatu
i had two family members tell me they were getting notifications every five minutes while i was sharing my location with them. their chat history a long scroll of empty message bubbles. in addition, the gps map is hogging a third of the chat window at all times.
Developer Response
The GPS issues have been resolved in 1.1.2, thank you for letting me know and apologies
• NomadNet pages: open pages people publish on the mesh from the new Pages tab, and write and publish your own pages straight from your phone. Block or report a node you don't want to see.
• Your name in a network is now sealed in the network directory, so only the network's members can read it. Members still on an older version of Stolo see people who have updated as a short code until they update too.
• Much better battery life in the background. Stolo now rests between check-ins while your messages keep arriving, and shares your position once an hour instead of every minute while it's in the background.
• Choose what each connection does in the background: stay connected, or disconnect when idle to save more battery. Find it in Connections.
• Smoother switching between Wi-Fi and cellular. When Wi-Fi drops, your messages move to the gateway within seconds, and Stolo goes back to Wi-Fi within seconds when it returns.
• Each message now shows the connection it actually arrived over.
• A priority message that can't be delivered now expires after 7 days, and you can cancel one that's still waiting.
• The "Mesh degraded" notice now says what to do, and no longer appears just because you switched networks.
Version 1.1.4
The developer, Stolo Systems Inc., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Stolo Systems Inc.
Size
278.1 MB
Category
Utilities
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Apple Vision Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Location
This app may use your location even when it isn’t open, which can decrease device battery life.