SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user IDs, not even a phone number.
Instead of WhatsApp
Screenshot from simplex.chat, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.
SimpleX does not give anyone an identifier, so the servers cannot say who is talking to whom. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and the apps and servers are open source.
Your contacts have to be on it too, and the design takes some getting used to, so Delivery is a 3. Its privacy claims have had outside review, and we have not read the reports.
- No user IDs, not even a phone number
- End-to-end encrypted, with open source apps and servers
- Your friends have to join too
What stands out
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For comparison, we also reviewed WhatsApp (14/30) as a benchmark.
Other tools for “chat with people”
Delta ChatA chat app that runs on ordinary email, with no phone number needed.
SignalA private messenger run by a nonprofit, with end-to-end encryption by default.
ElementA messenger built on the open Matrix standard, which you can host yourself.
BriarA messenger that works with no internet, through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Tor.