Decentralized Messaging Landscape
A comprehensive tracker monitoring the status, adoption, and privacy features of decentralized messaging applications.
Total Active Users
~135 million
Most Popular App
Signal
Highest Decentralization
Briar
Featured Protocols
9
Decentralized Messaging Apps
| # | App | User Base | Decentralization | Privacy Rating | Business Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S Signal Signal Protocol | 40M+ | Low | Strong | Non-profit foundation |
| 2 | M Matrix/Element Matrix | 90M | High | Good | Commercial + open-source |
| 3 | S Session Modified Signal Protocol | ~1-3M | Very High | Strong | Non-profit foundation |
| 4 | B Briar Briar protocol | ~100-500K | Extremely High | Strong | Open-source project |
| 5 | X XMTP XMTP | ~2-3M wallets | High | Good | VC-funded protocol |
| 6 | S Status Waku (from Whisper) | ~500K-1M | High | Good | Project with token |
| 7 | D Delta Chat SMTP/IMAP | ~1M downloads | Moderate | Good | Open-source project |
| 8 | S SimpleX SimpleX | ~100K | High | Strong | Commercial + open source |
| 9 | J Jami OpenDHT | ~500K | Very High | Strong | GNU project |
Key Privacy Features Comparison
| App | E2EE | Metadata Protection | ID Requirement | Server Dependence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
S Signal | Strong | Partial | Phone number required | Centralized servers |
M Matrix/Element | Optional (default) | Partial | Username only | Federated servers |
S Session | Strong | Strong | No personal info | Decentralized routing |
B Briar | Strong | Strong | No personal info | No servers (P2P) |
X XMTP | Strong | Partial | Wallet address | Node network |
S Status | Strong | Partial | ENS username | P2P with Ethereum |
D Delta Chat | Autocrypt | Limited | Email address | Email providers |
S SimpleX | Strong | Strong | No identifiers | Server queues |
J Jami | Strong | Strong | No personal info | Pure P2P |