Session - Private Messenger 17+
Send messages, not metadata
The Loki Project
-
- Free
Screenshots
Description
Session is a new breed of private messenger, built on a unique network of user-operated servers spread all over the world. With no central servers, Session can’t leak or sell your data. And with Session’s private routing protocols, your messages are completely anonymous. No one ever knows who you’re talking to, what you’re saying, or even your IP address.
• Fully anonymous account creation: No phone number or email needed to create a Session ID
• Decentralised server network: No data breaches, no central point of failure
• No metadata logging: Session doesn't store, track, or log your messaging metadata
• IP address protection: Device IP addresses are never exposed to the person you're talking to or the servers holding your data
• Closed groups: Private, end-to-end encrypted group chats for up to 100 people
• Secure attachments: Share voice snippets, photos, and files with Session's secure encryption and privacy protections
• Free and open-source: Don’t take our word for it — check Session's code yourself
Session is free as in free speech, free as in free beer, and free of ads and trackers. Session is built and maintained by the OPTF, Australia’s first privacy tech not-for-profit organisation. Take back your online privacy today — download Session.
Want to build from source, report a bug, or just take a look at our code? Check out Session on GitHub: https://github.com/loki-project/session-ios
What’s New
Version 2.5.0
• Disappearing Messages now has two modes, Disappear after Send and Disappear After Read
• When Disappear after Send is selected, messages will disappear from sender, recipient and network simultaneously a set time after they have been sent, regardless of whether the recipient has received or read the message.
• When Disappear after Read is selected, messages will disappear for the sender and the sender’s swarm a set time after they have been sent, and for the recipient and the recipient’s swarm a set time after they have been read. Messages which haven’t been read after 14 days will disappear for the recipient and their swarm.
• Both options will be available in 1-1 chats, but only Disappear after Send will be available in Groups. Neither will be available in Communities.
• This release includes the new version of Disappearing Messages, however the feature won't be enabled until March 13th 10am AEDT, this will give users time to update their clients to be able to interpret the new type of messages
Ratings and Reviews
Looks good. But a few questions...
The app looks good. Similar to other Matrix style apps (Not a bad thing). Easy to setup an “account”. Does dark mode. I can’t see any faults yet. Give it a try.
My questions...
If the app is not used for a set period of time, will the account get disabled?
If that’s even possible, given that the account is held on the phone.
Does this app have any plans for video calls?
Are messages saved on a server, for times when people send a message to me, but my phone is off?
... Then the messages are collected when my phone is on again.
Or are messages only direct, from sender to receiver, and disappear if not immediately received?
Will this app ever be available to download from F-Droid? For those phones that aren’t made by Apple.
Thanks. And much gratitude for a free app that doesn’t collect data or annoy us with adverts. No stupid IAP’s either. Though, I’m not sure why you don’t charge £1 or 2 for your time.
Developer Response ,
Thanks for your feedback and review.
- No, the account will not be disabled if for a period of time. If you delete the app and do not take note of your recovery phrase, then theoretically the Session ID is lost.
- We support voice/video calls :)
- Yes, you can learn more about TTL here: https://sessionapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4439131088665-Where-are-my-messages-being-stored-
- Yes, we are available on F-droid: https://sessionapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4416517564185-Is-Session-available-on-F-Droid-
Face lock lag
Feels like there’s a delay when using face unlock. For this reason opening the app every time is a little painful. I wish it would accept face unlock and give the option of a 3-minute cooldown for example before requiring face unlock again.
Been great.
Update- Feb 2024. Notifications are still not reliable. It’s a great app and concept and I love everything about it- but I can’t rely on it with the kids- we can send messages and they don’t get a notification, or they send to us and we don’t get notifications. I don’t like WhatsApp but if I send a WhatsApp message I know it has definitely been delivered and the notifications are working. I am desperate for this app to improve especially around reliability.
2022 -Have been using a while now but notifications in iOS are unreliable with some messages not notifying us or just nothing happening until the app is opened. Needs a fix.
Developer Response ,
We understand the importance of notifications in enhancing your Session app experience. Our team is tirelessly working on improving this feature to ensure you don't miss out on any important messages. Please stay tuned for updates. Your patience is greatly appreciated. Thank you for choosing Session!
App Privacy
The developer, The Loki Project, 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 based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Provider
- Rangeproof PTY LTD
- Size
- 74.4 MB
- Category
- Social Networking
- Compatibility
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- iPhone
- Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
- iPad
- Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
- Apple Vision
- Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- Languages
-
English, Arabic, Belarusian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Singhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Age Rating
- 17+ Unrestricted Web Access
- Copyright
- © 2022 The Oxen Project
- Price
- Free