Zerion
Encrypted chats, calls and channels over Tor. No phone number, no email.
New in version 3.0.1
v3.0.1: startup fix
Fixes a bug where the app could fail to start and show a black screen on some installs, including from Google Play. Optional hardened mode is now off by default; you can still turn it on under Security settings. No protocol change and no database upgrade from 3.0.0.
Full notes: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion/releases/tag/v3.0.1
Fixes a bug where the app could fail to start and show a black screen on some installs, including from Google Play. Optional hardened mode is now off by default; you can still turn it on under Security settings. No protocol change and no database upgrade from 3.0.0.
Full notes: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion/releases/tag/v3.0.1
Zerion is a private messenger. It runs over Tor, so your IP address stays hidden from the people you talk to and from the network itself. There's no phone number, no email, and no account on anyone's server. Your data lives encrypted on your own device, nowhere else.
Everything is end-to-end encrypted with hybrid post-quantum cryptography: today's proven algorithms together with the new NIST quantum-resistant ones. Keys move forward with every message, so a key uncovered today cannot open yesterday's conversations. If large quantum computers arrive sooner than expected, what you sent in the past stays protected.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• One-to-one chats, end-to-end encrypted
• Group chats up to a few dozen people
• Voice calls over Tor, on by default, plus opt-in beta video calling
• Send photos, videos, voice notes, and documents
• Disappearing messages, with an optional default timer for new chats
• Stickers
• Introduce two of your contacts to each other, securely
• A built-in vault for passwords, notes, and private files, with search and sort
• Back up your account to an encrypted file, or move it to a new phone over Tor
• Channels, a one-to-many broadcast layer with optional discussion threads
• Translated into more than 35 languages
CHANNELS
One person writes, many people read.
• Public channels: anyone with the invite link can subscribe
• Private channels: people ask to join and the owner approves
• Discussion threads: the owner decides, per channel, whether subscribers can reply
• Reactions, pinned posts, and attachments
• Editor delegations: let trusted people post without sharing your identity key
• Mute notifications for any channel
• Subscribers never see one another, so no member list leaks between them
HARDENED MODE (OPT-IN)
Three independent protections under Security settings, all off by default:
• Refuse to start on tampered devices (unlocked bootloader, modified system)
• Refuse to start when a debugger, root, or hooking framework is detected
• Sign out automatically, or wipe, if USB debugging or file transfer is switched on
PRIVACY AND SECURITY
• Tor-only transport. No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or LAN exposure
• No phone number, no email, no central server
• No telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting
• No logging of any kind, verified at build time
• Encrypted at rest with SQLCipher and a key derived from your password
• Screenshots blocked inside the app
• Notifications never reveal message contents
• The clipboard auto-clears after you copy something sensitive
• Fully open source, GPL v3, security-reviewed before each release
UNDER THE HOOD
• Hybrid post-quantum key exchange (X25519 + ML-KEM-768)
• Hybrid signatures (Ed25519 + ML-DSA)
• Forward-secret message ratcheting
• Calls encrypted with AES-256-GCM; storage with SQLCipher (AES-256)
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Zerion is free and open source, with no ads, no trackers, and no investors. If you'd like to help keep it independent, you can donate:
https://zerion.chat/donate.html
WHO IT'S FOR
People who want to talk to other people without a third party in the middle. Journalists and their sources, activists, lawyers and their clients, people in countries that block secure messengers. Anyone who doesn't want to hand a phone number to a tech company every time they install a messenger.
WHAT IT WON'T DO
• It won't message people who aren't on Zerion
• It won't work without an internet connection (Tor needs one)
• It won't restore your account if you forget the password. There is no recovery, and that's the point
LEARN MORE
• Website: https://zerion.chat
• Source: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion
GPL v3.
Everything is end-to-end encrypted with hybrid post-quantum cryptography: today's proven algorithms together with the new NIST quantum-resistant ones. Keys move forward with every message, so a key uncovered today cannot open yesterday's conversations. If large quantum computers arrive sooner than expected, what you sent in the past stays protected.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• One-to-one chats, end-to-end encrypted
• Group chats up to a few dozen people
• Voice calls over Tor, on by default, plus opt-in beta video calling
• Send photos, videos, voice notes, and documents
• Disappearing messages, with an optional default timer for new chats
• Stickers
• Introduce two of your contacts to each other, securely
• A built-in vault for passwords, notes, and private files, with search and sort
• Back up your account to an encrypted file, or move it to a new phone over Tor
• Channels, a one-to-many broadcast layer with optional discussion threads
• Translated into more than 35 languages
CHANNELS
One person writes, many people read.
• Public channels: anyone with the invite link can subscribe
• Private channels: people ask to join and the owner approves
• Discussion threads: the owner decides, per channel, whether subscribers can reply
• Reactions, pinned posts, and attachments
• Editor delegations: let trusted people post without sharing your identity key
• Mute notifications for any channel
• Subscribers never see one another, so no member list leaks between them
HARDENED MODE (OPT-IN)
Three independent protections under Security settings, all off by default:
• Refuse to start on tampered devices (unlocked bootloader, modified system)
• Refuse to start when a debugger, root, or hooking framework is detected
• Sign out automatically, or wipe, if USB debugging or file transfer is switched on
PRIVACY AND SECURITY
• Tor-only transport. No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or LAN exposure
• No phone number, no email, no central server
• No telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting
• No logging of any kind, verified at build time
• Encrypted at rest with SQLCipher and a key derived from your password
• Screenshots blocked inside the app
• Notifications never reveal message contents
• The clipboard auto-clears after you copy something sensitive
• Fully open source, GPL v3, security-reviewed before each release
UNDER THE HOOD
• Hybrid post-quantum key exchange (X25519 + ML-KEM-768)
• Hybrid signatures (Ed25519 + ML-DSA)
• Forward-secret message ratcheting
• Calls encrypted with AES-256-GCM; storage with SQLCipher (AES-256)
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Zerion is free and open source, with no ads, no trackers, and no investors. If you'd like to help keep it independent, you can donate:
https://zerion.chat/donate.html
WHO IT'S FOR
People who want to talk to other people without a third party in the middle. Journalists and their sources, activists, lawyers and their clients, people in countries that block secure messengers. Anyone who doesn't want to hand a phone number to a tech company every time they install a messenger.
WHAT IT WON'T DO
• It won't message people who aren't on Zerion
• It won't work without an internet connection (Tor needs one)
• It won't restore your account if you forget the password. There is no recovery, and that's the point
LEARN MORE
• Website: https://zerion.chat
• Source: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion
GPL v3.
- License: GNU General Public License v3.0 only
- Website
- Issue Tracker
- Source Code
- Changelog
- Build Metadata
- Reproducibility Status
Donate
Versions
Although APK downloads are available below to give you the choice, you should be aware that by installing that way you will not receive update notifications and it's a less secure way to download. We recommend that you install the F-Droid client and use that.
Download F-Droid-
arm64-v8aarmeabi-v7aThis version requires Android 10 or newer.
It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.
Download APK 62 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log
-
arm64-v8aarmeabi-v7aThis version requires Android 10 or newer.
It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.
Download APK 59 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log
-
arm64-v8aarmeabi-v7aThis version requires Android 10 or newer.
It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.
Download APK 59 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log
New in version 2.0.7
v2.0.7: calculator display fix
This release fixes the calculator screen so its keypad buttons fit and display correctly in portrait on all screen sizes. On some phones the keys could overflow the screen and appear blank; the keys now size to the available width. There is no protocol change and no database upgrade.
Full notes: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion/releases/tag/v2.0.7
This release fixes the calculator screen so its keypad buttons fit and display correctly in portrait on all screen sizes. On some phones the keys could overflow the screen and appear blank; the keys now size to the available width. There is no protocol change and no database upgrade.
Full notes: https://github.com/zerionproject/Zerion/releases/tag/v2.0.7
New in version 2.0.6
v2.0.6: reliability and hardening
Adding contacts is reliable again and crashes during pairing are fixed. Connections recover faster after a drop so contacts stay online more consistently, voice memos deliver reliably, and joining older channels works again. The per-message post-quantum encryption was audited and hardened, several security issues were fixed, and the app was cleaned up with clearer text and accessibility labels. Both people need this version to add each other. No database upgrad
Adding contacts is reliable again and crashes during pairing are fixed. Connections recover faster after a drop so contacts stay online more consistently, voice memos deliver reliably, and joining older channels works again. The per-message post-quantum encryption was audited and hardened, several security issues were fixed, and the app was cleaned up with clearer text and accessibility labels. Both people need this version to add each other. No database upgrad