"After extensive private beta tests, the first public beta of Briar was released today. Briar is a secure messaging app for Android.
Unlike other popular apps, Briar does not require servers to work. It connects users directly using a peer-to-peer network. This makes it resistant to censorship and allows it to work even without internet access.
The app encrypts all data end-to-end and also hides metadata about who is communicating. This is the next step in the evolution of secure messaging. No communication ever enters the public internet. Everything is sent via the Tor anonymity network or local networks."
PSA from the developer mailing list:
"The beta will expire on 21 October. When it expires, your contacts and messages will be lost. The expiry period is designed to limit the impact of any security issues and allow us to make incompatible changes before the 1.0 release."
So be ready to start your social graph from scratch after the beta ends.
https://briarproject.org/news/2017-beta-released-security-audit.html
Unlike other popular apps, Briar does not require servers to work. It connects users directly using a peer-to-peer network. This makes it resistant to censorship and allows it to work even without internet access.
The app encrypts all data end-to-end and also hides metadata about who is communicating. This is the next step in the evolution of secure messaging. No communication ever enters the public internet. Everything is sent via the Tor anonymity network or local networks."
PSA from the developer mailing list:
"The beta will expire on 21 October. When it expires, your contacts and messages will be lost. The expiry period is designed to limit the impact of any security issues and allow us to make incompatible changes before the 1.0 release."
So be ready to start your social graph from scratch after the beta ends.
https://briarproject.org/news/2017-beta-released-security-audit.html