# Shum Private Messenger — Private chat nearby & online > Private chat nearby & online (iPhone/iPad app by Zinaida Stankevich.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shum-private-messenger/id6816236820 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Zinaida Stankevich](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874017250) - Category: Social Networking - Price: Free - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 23 MB - Languages: American English, Arabic, French (France), Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish - Released: 2026-10-19 - Data updated: 2026-10-29 ## What is Shum Private Messenger? Shum is a decentralized messenger for talking to people nearby and staying connected over distance. Start with a display name: no phone number, email address or external account is required. Chat without internet Discover people nearby and exchange text messages over Bluetooth. Both devices need Bluetooth permission and must be within range. Stay connected over distance When internet is available, encrypted messages travel through independent Nostr relays. Delivery depends on the connection and relay availability. Choose who can message you Add a contact by scanning a QR code. Your QR code carries your signed profile, so a contact can be added without internet. Saving a contact and accepting a chat invitation are separate actions. Private conversations Messages use end-to-end encryption. Conversation history is stored encrypted on your device. Protect access with a Shum passcode or biometrics; a privacy cover hides the app when you leave it. A profile without uploading a photo Choose a name, an optional bio and a pixel avatar generated on your device from a short seed. Profile changes reach saved contacts when a connection is available. Keep your history Create an encrypted backup of your profile, keys, contacts and conversations, and restore it in Shum. Keep the backup password safe: it is needed to restore your data. Organize your chats Reply to messages, add reactions and pin conversations. You can block unwanted contacts and delete your profile and local data from the app settings. Shum currently supports text messaging. There are no ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Push notifications use a developer-operated service that receives no message text. See the privacy policy for details about relays and notification data. Support and source code: https://github.com/hiTechTeam/Shum-iOS ## Is Shum Private Messenger safe? Not enough ratings yet to assess Shum Private Messenger. ## Is Shum Private Messenger legit? Shum Private Messenger has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Shum Private Messenger is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.1.2 — 2026-10-28 • Restore a backup as another profile from Security settings or the profile list. • Answering an invitation on one device now shows on the profile's other devices. • Scanning your own code now says it is your profile. • On iOS 27 the message field rises with the keyboard again. • Lists fade softly under the bars at the top and bottom. ### 1.1.1 — 2026-10-26 Shum 1.1.1 • One profile on several devices: when a profile is restored from a backup on another iPhone or computer, it shows there what you send and read, your reactions, withdrawn messages and cleared chats. Your contact keeps their copy of the chat. • Fixed an extra ring around the avatar on iOS 18. ### 1.1.0 — 2026-10-25 Shum 1.1 • Bluetooth runs on the same core as Shum on computers: an iPhone and a computer nearby find each other and talk directly. For two iPhones to see each other, update Shum on both. • Several profiles, each with its own keys, contacts and chats. Tap your avatar to create one or switch. • A new Profile tab with your name, avatar and people met; settings are behind the gear. • A smoother interface: typing and animations no longer stutter. • Bug fixes. ### 1.0.3 — 2026-10-24 Shum now runs on the new shared core, the same one as the desktop app, the CLI and the browser version. • Delivery marks as in the other clients: a clock while a message is on its way, one tick once delivered, two once read. • An expired message can be sent again with Retry. • Backups use the shared format, so they also restore on the desktop and in the browser. • Messages arrive faster after a push, and an answer to an invitation no longer shows an extra notification. ### 1.0.1 — 2026-10-23 Notifications for new messages and invitations arrive again: the notification service moved to a new server and now works behind a VPN too. ## Related topics [messaging apps private](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/messaging-apps-private) · [private messaging app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/private-messaging-app) · [private texting](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/private-texting) · [private messaging](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/private-messaging) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-29.*