SimpleX Chat The European alternative to WhatsApp / Signal

SimpleX Chat is an open-source messenger from SimpleX Chat Ltd in London, founded in 2021. According to its own statement, the platform works without any form of user IDs, phone numbers, or permanent identifiers. Instead, temporary addresses are generated per contact relationship. Features include encrypted chats, voice and video calls, groups, file sharing, and a distributed server network. The app is available for iOS, Android, and desktop.

SimpleX Chat is federated: users can run their own SMP and XFTP servers or choose from existing ones. This means the infrastructure can be operated exclusively in the EU. The development company SimpleX Chat Ltd is headquartered in London (20-22 Wenlock Road, N1 7GU). The United Kingdom has not been part of the EU since 2020 but is considered a third country with an adequacy decision under data protection law. The software is open source under AGPLv3 and can be fully self-hosted.

SimpleX Chat completely dispenses with user IDs and requires no phone number. Signal requires a phone number as the primary identifier. SimpleX Chat is federated and allows self-hosting, Signal uses central AWS servers. Both are open source and end-to-end encrypted. Signal has a significantly larger user ecosystem and more mature call functions, SimpleX positions itself for maximum anonymity at the protocol level.