Quiet is a peer-to-peer team chat app that syncs encrypted messages directly between member devices over Tor, with no central server to trust, run, or breach. It serves teams, organizations, and communities that want Slack-style channels without handing their conversations and metadata to a company's infrastructure.[1][2]
Quick verdict
Small privacy-minded teams that want channel-based chat without trusting or running a central server will get the most from Quiet. Its communities sync end-to-end encrypted messages directly between member devices over Tor, with no phone number or email required to join. The price of that design is beta software: it is not audited, caps communities at roughly 30 to 100 members, and still lacks direct messages, search, and threads. If your group fits that size and can live with the missing pieces, try Quiet; if you need proven security assurances or a full Slack replacement today, choose a mature option such as Element first.[1][2]
Key features
Serverless Tor sync: messages sync directly between member devices over Tor onion services, so community data lives only on the community's phones and laptops.[1][2]
No account identifiers: creating or joining a community needs no phone number or email address, unlike Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal.[1][2]
Slack-like channels: communities organize conversations into channels, closer to Slack's model than to Signal's one-to-one chats.[1][2]
End-to-end encryption: all community data is encrypted end to end between member devices, with access granted through owner-issued invitation codes and PKI certificates.[1]
Unlimited file transfers: members can send images and giant files without arbitrary size caps, with previews for images.[1][2]
Invite links: owners share invitation codes that let new members connect, register a username, and receive a certificate proving membership to other peers.[1]
Desktop and mobile apps: native apps cover macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS, with desktop notifications and keyboard-first channel navigation.[1][2]
Published threat model: the project documents its usage scenario, adversaries, security invariants, and known weaknesses in a public wiki, and treats unmet invariants as security bugs.[1]
Who will love it
Small teams fleeing company-run chat: groups wanting channels without trusting Slack's or Discord's servers and without operating a Matrix homeserver fit Quiet's serverless model.[1][2]
Communities that care about metadata: groups for whom hiding who talks to whom and from where matters as much as encrypting content get built-in Tor routing.[1][2]
Open-source adopters comfortable with beta: groups tolerating missing features in exchange for GPL-3.0 code and free apps on every major platform can try it easily.[1][2][3]
Who should avoid it
Groups needing proven security today should heed the project's own warning: Quiet is unaudited beta software, not high-stakes security tooling.[1][2]
Large or fast-growing communities are blocked: the current limit is roughly 30 to 100 members with moderation tooling planned post-1.0.[1]
Teams needing DMs, search, or threads should wait: direct messages, message search, threads, mentions, and multiple simultaneous communities are documented as missing.[1]
Alternatives and compatibility
Element is the published catalogue incumbent for the conditional recommendation; openness plus maturity versus serverless design decides, with incumbent-side detail as a review proposal.[1][2]
Adopting Quiet means installing an app and joining with an invitation code: there is no server to provision, and history arrives through peer sync rather than a server fetch.[1][2]
If your group is small and accepts beta gaps for serverless privacy, choose Quiet; if you need audited security, large communities, or DMs and search today, choose Element and revisit Quiet after 1.0.[1][2]
Questions worth asking
What is the best Quiet alternative for non-technical users?
Is Quiet really no-code?
How much does Quiet cost per month?
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 12, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- Quiet official site
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Official Quiet site: private serverless messaging over Tor, no identifiers, channels, unlimited files, 11.3.0 downloads for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and beta warning.
- Quiet GitHub repository
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Repository TryQuiet/quiet: private P2P Slack and Discord alternative on Tor and IPFS with GPL-3.0 license badge.
- Quiet README (official repository)
official · Observed October 12, 2026
README: alternative to Slack, Discord, Element with no server; unaudited beta warning; features, planned and post-1.0 lists; PKI invites, Tor onion services, IPFS/OrbitDB sync, TypeScript/Electron/React Native stack; 30-100 member limit.
- Quiet LICENSE file
official · Observed October 12, 2026
LICENSE.md carries the full GNU General Public License version 3 text, matching the GPL-3.0 badge.
- Quiet threat model wiki
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Threat-model wiki: usage scenario, adversaries, invariants, known weaknesses; reviewed Signal, WhatsApp, Matrix, Ricochet, Cwtch, Session; journalists wanted an encrypted Slack/Discord replacement with channels.