How Sygnet Works
Secure messaging without central authorities, explained step by step.
The Big Picture
Messages travel directly between devices. The shared network only helps you find each other.
Generate Your Identity
When you first launch Sygnet, it creates a unique identity on your device—like a digital fingerprint that belongs only to you. No account signup required.
- Your identity key never leaves your device
- Share your contact address with people you trust
- No email, phone number, or personal info required
- Backed up with a recovery phrase you store safely
Connect with Contacts
Share your contact code with people you want to message. They add you, you add them.
- Exchange codes in person, via QR, or any channel you trust
- Verify you're really talking to who you think by comparing a short code
- Build your trusted network over time
- Get introduced to friends-of-friends
Find Your Contacts
When you want to message someone, Sygnet looks them up across a shared network—no central server involved. No company knows who you're looking for.
- No central server knows who you're contacting
- Lookups are spread across the network—no single point of failure
- Your location stays hidden through Tor
- Works even when your contact is on a home or office network
Send Encrypted Messages
Messages are encrypted on your device before transmission. Only the recipient's device can decrypt them.
- Each message uses fresh encryption keys—compromising one doesn't expose others
- Modern, proven encryption trusted by security researchers worldwide
- Sent directly between you and your contact—no middleman
- No company ever has access to your messages
- First messages to new contacts require proof-of-work — free for you, expensive for spammers
The Web of Trust
Instead of trusting a company to verify who people are, Sygnet lets you verify people yourself—and lets your verified contacts introduce you to others.
Direct Verification
Compare a short verification code in person or over a call you trust. Once verified, you know exactly who you're talking to.
Introductions
Verified contacts can introduce you to others. Trust flows through your network of verified relationships.
Trust Indicators
Clear visual indicators show verification status. You always know whether a contact has been verified or introduced.
Workspaces: Encrypted Team Channels
Individual privacy is just the beginning. Sygnet Workspaces bring the same encryption guarantees to teams and organizations.
Per-Channel Encryption
Every workspace channel has its own encryption. Secure automatically as your team changes—when someone is removed, they lose access to new messages immediately.
Access Enforced by Math
Your team controls who has access, not a company's server. Owner, Admin, Member, and Read-Only roles. When permissions change, the update spreads across the network automatically.
People Leave, Access Doesn't Follow
Like changing the locks when someone moves out—but instant and automatic. No manual steps. No "please change the password."
Built on the Same Trust Model
Workspaces use the same verification system as individual messaging. Scales to ~1,000 members per workspace. Your team's communication stays under your control.
Curators: Algorithmic Choice
Most platforms force-feed you content chosen by algorithms optimized for engagement. Sygnet flips this: you choose what to follow.
Curators Monitor Sources
A curator is an AI-powered service that monitors news sources and public content. It sorts incoming content into topics using AI—tech news, security advisories, political commentary, whatever the curator is configured for.
You Subscribe to Topics
Browse available curators and subscribe to the topics you care about. Curators post to forums you follow. You see what you asked for—nothing more.
No Forced Algorithms
Unlike social media feeds designed to maximize engagement, curators work for you. Don't like a curator's classification? Unsubscribe. Run your own. The algorithm is a service you choose, not a cage you're trapped in.
Want the technical details?
Read our security documentation for technical specifications and details.
View Security Model