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Home/Categories/Communication & Collaboration/Quiet
icon of Quiet

Quiet

Open source alternative to Threema Work and Wire

It is a peer-to-peer, serverless messaging application prioritizing privacy and security through Tor integration and end-to-end encryption.

2.6K starsCGPL-3.0Active this month
Visit websiteGitHub repo
image of Quiet
Contents
  1. 01Who Quiet is for
  2. 02The problem it solves
  3. 03How it solves it
  4. 04Strengths and trade-offs
  5. 05Tech stack
  6. 06FAQ
  7. 07Similar open-source tools
TL;DR

Quiet is a peer-to-peer team messaging app that uses Tor and local-first architecture for private group communication. It replaces centralized chat workspaces for groups that want serverless, privacy-focused messaging. GPL-3.0 licensed.GPL-3.0 · C · 2.6K stars · Active this month

who it's for

Who Quiet is for#

Small privacy-sensitive groups

Use Quiet when a group needs private chat without depending on a central workspace provider.

Skip if:

You need enterprise administration, app integrations, and formal compliance reporting.

Communities avoiding central servers

Use Quiet for community spaces where server ownership and metadata exposure are major concerns.

Skip if:

Your members need the simplest possible mainstream onboarding experience.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Private groups often use hosted team chat even when they do not want a central provider controlling servers, metadata, or access. That creates a trust gap for activist groups, sensitive communities, and teams working under privacy constraints.

Serverless messaging can reduce provider dependence, but it changes expectations around availability, moderation, and administration. Teams need to choose it for the right reason: privacy and ownership, not maximum workplace features.

how Quiet solves it

How it solves it#

Peer-to-peer team chat

Quiet is built around group messaging without a traditional central workspace server.

Tor-based privacy layer

The project uses Tor as part of its privacy model, reducing exposure of network metadata compared with ordinary hosted chat.

Local-first community data

Quiet emphasizes local-first communication patterns, which helps groups retain more control over their messages and spaces.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

  • No central chat providerQuiet is useful for groups that do not want their communication tied to a company-owned workspace server.
  • Designed for sensitive communitiesThe Tor and peer-to-peer architecture makes privacy a core product decision rather than an add-on setting.

Trade-offs

  • -Not a Slack cloneQuiet should not be evaluated as a feature-for-feature Slack replacement. It prioritizes privacy architecture over broad workplace integrations.
tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages
CC++TypeScript
Frameworks
ExpressNestJS
Tooling
Webpack
frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Quiet self-hosted?

Quiet is better described as peer-to-peer and serverless rather than a traditional self-hosted chat server.

Does Quiet use Tor?

Yes. Quiet uses Tor as part of its privacy-focused communication model.

Can Quiet replace Slack?

Quiet can replace Slack for small groups prioritizing privacy, but it is not meant to match Slack's full business workspace ecosystem.

also worth a look

Similar open-source tools#

Element

Element

Secure team chat built on the Matrix open protocol

13.1KTypeScriptAGPL-3.0
Tox

Tox

Free encrypted P2P messaging and voice calls, no servers

2.6KCGPL-3.0
bitchat

bitchat

Peer-to-peer encrypted chat over Bluetooth mesh network

26KSwiftUnlicense
Notesnook

Notesnook

End-to-end encrypted open source note-taking, cross-platform

14KTypeScriptGPL-3.0
Cachet

Cachet

Self-hosted status page for communicating incidents

15.1KPHP
Prose

Prose

Decentralized open source workplace with chat and docs

36RustMPL-2.0

Repository

Stars
2.6K
Forks
133
License
GPL-3.0
Latest
@quiet/[email protected]
Last commit
19 days ago
Last verified
May 13, 2026
Repo
TryQuiet/quiet ↗

Additional details

Language
C
Open issues
702
Contributors
56
First release
2021

Categories

Communication & CollaborationSecurity & Monitoring

Tags

ChatSecurityPrivacy ToolsSelf HostedLocal-firstFile Sharing