Overview

Tox is a peer-to-peer instant messaging protocol and set of client apps that connects you with friends and family without anyone else listening in. Unlike centralised services, Tox requires no registration server and no phone number: every client gets a cryptographic identity, and messages are exchanged directly between peers using end-to-end encryption built on open-source libraries.

Key Features

• True Peer-to-Peer: no central servers, account, or phone number
• End-to-End Encryption: open-source crypto libraries
• No Ads: free forever, no paid tiers
• Multi-Client: several compatible desktop and mobile clients exist
• Voice and Video: calls alongside text messaging

Why Use It

Tox is free software in both senses of the word: free as in freedom and free as in price. Conversations are encrypted and only the people you talk to can read them, with no company in the middle to mine or sell your data.

Use Cases

• Private one-to-one messaging without a phone number
• Secure group chats and file sharing
• Voice and video calls routed directly between users
• Users wanting to escape advertising-funded messengers

Platforms

Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS (via community clients such as uTox, qTox, Toxic, and aTox).

Licence

Open source. GPLv3 (clients vary; the Tox protocol libraries are permissively licensed).

Website

https://tox.chat/