Is Silence free?

Silence is a free and open-source software: you won’t pay anything to download and install it. Because Silence is a SMS/MMS application, your carrier may charge you for sent SMS/MMS messages if your plan doesn’t include unlimited messages.

Does the recipient have to install Silence?

To start a secure session, Silence must be installed on both sides. You can still chat with your friends that do not have Silence installed, but this will be via unencrypted messages, like any other SMS/MMS app.

Do you plan to port Silence on iOS?

Apple doesn’t allow third apps like Silence to manage SMS/MMS messages. This means that you cannot use other apps to chat on iOS than the stock SMS/MMS one. Messaging apps on iOS rely on Internet data rather than on GSM, even if it’s wrongly named “SMS messages”.

Can I chat with a Signal user using Silence?

No, you can’t. Silence uses the Signal encryption protocol but not the same way to transport messages. Silence relies on SMS/MMS messages while Signal relies on Internet messages.

Can I protect myself from surveillance with Silence?

With encrypted messages, Silence will protect the content of the communications. It means that only you and your recipient will be able to read the conversation. Your carrier, an attacker or a state surveillance program won’t be able to read encrypted messages. But Silence will not hide your social graph: it means that, even with encrypted messages, attackers could figure out who you’re chatting with, when, or how often. Additionally, your phone may still be tracked (with Silence or any other app) through the GSM network.

Can I contribute to Silence?

Yes, you can, even if you are not a developer! First, you can spread the word about encrypting SMS/MMS messages by explaining what Silence is to your friends, colleagues, family, etc. You can also translate Silence, submit bugs or add new features. See the “Contribute” page. You can also donate to the project.