ChatSecure
Original author(s)Chris Ballinger
Developer(s)Chris Ballinger, David Chiles, and contributors
Initial release1.0.2 / February 27, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-02-27)[1]
Stable release
5.0.4[2] / August 13, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-08-13)
Repositorygithub.com/chatsecure
Written inObjective-C, Swift
Operating systemiOS
Size10.7 MB[3]
Available in30 languages[3]
TypeCommunication
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later[4]
Websitechatsecure.org

ChatSecure is a messaging application for iOS which allows OTR and OMEMO encryption for the XMPP protocol. ChatSecure is free and open source software available under the GPL-3.0-or-later license.

ChatSecure has been used by international individuals[5][6] and governments,[7] businesses,[8] and those spreading jihadi propaganda.[9][10]

As of July 2023 the app haven't received any updates in almost two years.[11]

History

ChatSecure was originally released in 2011, and was the first iOS application to support OTR messaging.[12] In 2012, ChatSecure formed a partnership with The Guardian Project and the Gibberbot app was rebranded to "ChatSecure Android".[13]

In late 2016, the Android branding partnership was ended,[14][15] with ChatSecure Android becoming 'Zom',[16] and ChatSecure iOS remaining as ChatSecure. ChatSecure iOS remains in active development and is unaffected by this change. Version 4.0 was released on January 17, 2017.[17]

ChatSecure is censored from the App Store in China.[18]

Reception

In November 2014, "ChatSecure + Orbot" received a perfect score on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Secure Messaging Scorecard";[19] the combination received points for having communications encrypted in transit, having communications encrypted with keys the provider doesn't have access to (end-to-end encryption), making it possible for users to independently verify their correspondents' identities, having past communications secure if the keys are stolen (forward secrecy), having the code open to independent review (open source), having the security designs well-documented, and having a recent independent security audit.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ChatSecure/ChatSecure-iOS". GitHub.
  2. ^ "ChatSecure Messenger". 13 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "ChatSecure Messenger on the App Store". apps.apple.com. 13 August 2021.
  4. ^ "README.md". GitHub.
  5. ^ Glaser, April. "Your Selfies Are Insecure. Here's How to Encrypt Them". Wired.
  6. ^ Dredge, Stuart (11 December 2014). "Worried about leaky chats? Messaging apps are responding with security features". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Paletta, Damian (22 February 2016). "How the U.S. Fights Encryption—and Also Helps Develop It". Wall Street Journal.
  8. ^ Pogue, David (2016). "Your E-mail Password Will Never Be Safe". Scientific American. 316 (1): 24. Bibcode:2016SciAm.316a..24P. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0117-24. PMID 28004711.
  9. ^ "'Dark net' Islamic preachers under intelligence lens".
  10. ^ "ISIS recommends list of secure-messaging apps amid heated U.S. encryption debate". The Daily Dot. 13 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Commits · ChatSecure/ChatSecure-iOS". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  12. ^ "ChatSecure iOS Security Audit". ChatSecure. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  13. ^ Nathan Freitas (24 October 2013). "ChatSecure v12 Provides Comprehensive Mobile Security and a Whole New Look". GuardianProject.info. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  14. ^ "The End of ChatSecure Android". 16 December 2016.
  15. ^ "ChatSecure 4.0 Launches With Support For Signal-Derivative 'OMEMO' Protocol (Update)". 18 January 2017.
  16. ^ "zom/Zom-Android". GitHub.
  17. ^ "ChatSecure v4.0 - OMEMO and Signal Protocol". 17 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Apple Censorship: ChatSecure".
  19. ^ a b "Secure Messaging Scorecard". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2017.

External links

Instant messaging
Cryptographic software
Categories