Short texts, facts, logos, screenshots and video, free to use for reporting on LADON messenger. Every technical statement on this page can be traced to the public source code.
LADON messenger is a free, open-source iPhone messenger that works without a phone number, email or account. Messages are end-to-end encrypted with classical and post-quantum cryptography combined, sent only over Tor and padded to a fixed size. The full source code of the app and the servers is public.
LADON messenger is an iPhone messenger built so that the people running it learn as little as possible about the people using it. There is no sign-up: no phone number, no email, no account. Keys are created on the device, and contacts are added by scanning each other's QR code or with an invite link.
Every message is end-to-end encrypted and gets its own key. The encryption combines classical algorithms with post-quantum ones (ML-KEM-768 and ML-DSA-65), so traffic recorded today is built not to be readable later. Messages travel only over Tor, in requests of the same 16 KB size, mixed with cover traffic. The server learns no sender.
The app is free, with no ads and no trackers. Its full source code, app and servers, is public under the AGPL-3.0. It is built by Albert Gashi in Zurich, Switzerland.
"Free. Open source. Paid out of my own pocket."
"No ads, no trackers, no selling of data. You are never the product." — Albert Gashi
| Name | LADON messenger. Please write LADON in capitals and messenger in lower case, always both words. |
|---|---|
| Made by | Albert Gashi, Zurich, Switzerland. One developer, who pays for the servers himself. |
| Platform | iPhone, iOS 26 or later. No Android version yet. |
| Status | Version 1.0 is in App Store review. |
| Price | Free. No ads, no trackers, no data sales. An optional tip is possible in the app. |
| Sign-up | None. No phone number, no email, no account. Contacts by QR code or invite link. |
| Encryption | End-to-end, a new key for every message. Key exchange X25519 + ML-KEM-768, signatures Ed25519 + ML-DSA-65 (classical and post-quantum combined). |
| Network | Tor only, no fallback without Tor. Every request is 16 KB, real messages hidden among cover traffic. The server learns no sender. |
| Servers | Written in Rust. Today one server in Switzerland, with entry, exit and push in separate containers. Planned: 3 entry and 3 exit servers in different countries, funded through a Kickstarter campaign. |
| Source code | App and servers, public under the AGPL-3.0: github.com/LADONmessenger/ladon-messenger. Includes formal models in ProVerif and Tamarin. |
| Audit | No independent security audit yet. It is a goal of the planned Kickstarter campaign. |
German screenshots are on the German press page and in the ZIP. The app blocks screen captures on real devices to protect conversations, so these images come from a build of the real app views with sample contacts.
A privacy product should say where its protection ends. Here is where LADON messenger stands today.
Entry, exit and push run on one machine in Switzerland. Whoever controls that machine controls all parts. A spread across countries is planned, not live.
The code is public and partly modelled formally, but no outside firm has audited it yet.
iOS 26 or later. There is no Android or desktop version, and no date for one.
One developer builds and runs it. That keeps it focused, and it also means limited capacity.
