Cord vs Ghostr

Cord is a privacy-first messaging app with end-to-end encryption and minimal identity requirements—no phone number, no email, no contact upload. Chat history stays on your device. End-to-End Encryption End-to-end encryption for messages Forward secrecy Cryptographic message authentication Minimal Identity by Design No phone number required No email required No contact list uploads Join cords via code/QR History Stays on Your Phone Chat history is stored in an encrypted database on your device Cord does not upload that history An app update does not delete your chats Move to a new phone on the same Wi-Fi. Chats copy directly between the phones, encrypted for the transfer, and are not uploaded After the move, messaging continues on the new phone. The previous phone can still be opened to read Key Features Create or join secure cords (group chats) Real-time encrypted messaging Move chats, including photos and files, to a new phone Message expiration options Dark and light themes Push notifications (no message content) Privacy-First No ads or trackers Built on open cryptographic standards Designed to minimize stored data Why Choose Cord? Cord focuses on private communication without tying your account to personal identifiers. Your messages are end-to-end encrypted so only participants can read them. History stays on the device, and you move it yourself when you change phones. For App Store Connect, the promotional text is 145 characters: Privacy-first messaging with end-to-end encryption—no phone number, no email. Move chats to a new phone over Wi-Fi. History stays on your device. What's New: Chat history stays in an encrypted database on your device. Updating the app does not delete your chats. Move to a new phone on the same Wi-Fi. Chats copy directly between the phones and are not uploaded. After the move, messaging continues on the new phone. The move is described as a handoff, not a backup and not a second active phone. Chat history is copied on the local network and is not uploaded. After the move, messaging continues on the new phone, and the previous phone can still be opened to read.

Ghostr is an encrypted messenger built around a simple principle: your privacy is not a compromise. No phone number, no email address, no personal information is required to communicate. All messages, calls, photos, videos, and files are protected by end-to-end encryption. No one can read your content — not even us. POST-QUANTUM ENCRYPTION Ghostr uses the most advanced cryptographic protocols available, including ML-KEM-768 standardized by NIST in 2024. Your communications stay protected against current attacks and against future quantum computers. - Triple Ratchet for perfect forward secrecy - PQXDH for post-quantum session establishment - Sealed Sender to minimize metadata exposure to the server - OHTTP routing to separate your IP address from content METADATA MINIMIZATION Most messengers encrypt content but still expose metadata — when you send a message, how often, and to whom. Ghostr adds an extra layer of network privacy on top of end-to-end encryption: - Constant-rate traffic patterns that don't reveal your activity timing - Cover traffic that normalizes overall activity patterns - Adaptive padding to normalize packet sizes - Background polling independent of when you actually send messages NO ACCOUNT REQUIRED Instead of a phone number or email address, Ghostr generates a random identifier locally on your device when you first launch the app. This identifier acts as your contact handle and is not linked to any personal information. You add contacts by scanning a QR code or sharing an invitation link — no directory lookup, no upload of your address book. ROBUST LOCAL LOCK Your device is the last line of defense. Ghostr protects local access with a password derived through Argon2id (OWASP 2025 standard). - Configurable auto-lock (immediate or delayed) - Optional data erase after multiple failed login attempts (the same protection iOS offers natively) - Fully encrypted local storage (SQLite + Argon2id keys) - Forced lock on cold start FEATURES - Real-time encrypted text messages - High-quality encrypted voice calls - Photo, video, and file sharing (encrypted) - Voice messages - Push notifications without revealing content - No ads, no trackers, no behavioral analytics TRANSPARENT SECURITY Ghostr is built on open and publicly auditable protocols. The cryptography relies on well-established libraries audited by the community. No proprietary protocols. No hidden telemetry. WHAT WE DON'T COLLECT We cannot read your messages. We cannot know who you are talking to. We cannot know when you communicate. We cannot access your files. We cannot identify you. These properties follow from the architecture — guaranteed by cryptography and data minimization, not by promises. COMPLIANCE Ghostr complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can delete your identifier and all associated data at any time from within the app, or simply by uninstalling Ghostr from your device.