Frequently Asked Questions

No. Sygnet creates a unique identity on your device—no personal information required. It's not tied to your phone number, email, or real name.

Exchange contact codes with people you want to message. You can share codes via QR code, text, or any channel you trust. For maximum security, verify by comparing a short code in person or over a call you trust.

When you create your identity, Sygnet gives you a 24-word recovery phrase. Store this somewhere safe and offline. With this phrase, you can restore your identity on a new device. Without it, your identity is lost forever—we cannot help you recover it.

Currently, Sygnet supports one device per identity. Multi-device support with secure key synchronization is planned for a future release.

No. Messages are encrypted on your device before transmission using keys that only you and your recipient possess. We don't operate servers that store or relay messages. We literally cannot access your messages because we never have them.

No. Sygnet doesn't phone home, collect telemetry, or send any data to our servers. The application is fully peer-to-peer. We don't know who uses Sygnet, who they message, or what they say.

Sygnet uses modern, proven encryption that is widely trusted by security researchers. Each message gets its own encryption key, so compromising one message doesn't expose others. For the technically curious: X25519 key exchange, XChaCha20-Poly1305 for message encryption, and Ed25519 for digital signatures—all designed by Daniel J. Bernstein and widely peer-reviewed.

Every message gets a fresh, single-use encryption key. If one message were somehow compromised, your other messages stay safe. All messages are encrypted end-to-end and verified to be from the real sender.

Three layers. First, your contact list acts as an allowlist — messages from people you know are accepted immediately. Second, messages from strangers require the sender's device to solve a small puzzle that takes about 30-60 seconds — unnoticeable for a real person, but makes mass-messaging thousands of people impractical. Third, introductions are limited to 5 per day per contact, so no one can flood you through the trust chain.

Sygnet routes all traffic through Tor by default. This hides your IP address from message recipients and anyone watching the network, protecting your physical location and preventing anyone from tracking who you talk to. Your Sygnet address is mathematically linked to your identity, so no one can impersonate your connection. While Tor adds some latency, we believe the privacy benefits are essential for truly secure messaging.

Sygnet uses a shared lookup network spread across many computers—no single company controls it. When you want to message someone, Sygnet looks up where to reach them through this network. No central server needed.

Instead of trusting a company to verify who people are, you verify contacts yourself by comparing a short code in person or over a trusted call. Your verified contacts can then introduce you to others. Trust flows through your personal network of verified relationships.

Sygnet uses widely trusted, peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols — no proprietary magic. We're pursuing a professional third-party security audit and will publish the full results. We believe security requires verifiability, not just promises.

Desktop: macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows (64-bit), and Linux (AppImage and .deb). iOS: native SwiftUI app in active development (TestFlight pending). Android: coming soon.

Yes. Sygnet's lookup network is open—you can run a node to help support it and reduce reliance on any single provider.

Workspaces are encrypted team channels for organizations. Each channel has its own encryption. When someone is removed, the encryption updates automatically so they lose access to future messages—like changing the locks when someone moves out. Roles include Owner, Admin, Member, and Read-Only. Access is enforced by the math itself—no company server decides who's in or out.

A curator is an AI-powered service that monitors news sources and sorts content into topics. You subscribe to curators and topics you care about. Curators post to forums you follow. Unlike social media algorithms designed to maximize engagement, curators work for you—you choose what to follow, and you can unsubscribe or run your own.

Yes. Sygnet depends on Tor for all messaging privacy, and we believe in contributing to the infrastructure we depend on. Sygnet is committed to running middle relay nodes to support Tor network capacity. We don't just consume Tor bandwidth -- we give it back.

Signal requires a phone number and relies on central servers for message delivery. Sygnet requires no personal information and is fully peer-to-peer. Signal is excellent for mainstream adoption; Sygnet is for users who want maximum decentralization and anonymity.

Matrix is a federated protocol requiring servers. While you can run your own server, most users rely on others' infrastructure. Sygnet is fully peer-to-peer with no servers required. Sygnet also uses a Web of Trust identity model rather than server-verified identities.

Briar and Sygnet share similar goals. Key differences: Sygnet supports desktop platforms (Briar is mobile-only), uses different cryptographic choices, and has a different approach to contact discovery. Both are excellent privacy-focused options.