https://github.com/positive-intentions/chat
I’m excited to share with you an instant messaging application I’ve been working on that might interest you. This is a chat app designed to work within your browser, with a focus on browser-based security and decentralization.
What makes this app unique is that it doesn’t rely on messaging servers to function. Instead, it works based on your browser’s javascript capabilities, so even low-end devices should work.
Here are some features of the app:
- Encrypted messaging: Your messages are encrypted, making them more secure.
- File sharing: Easily share files using WebRTC technology and QR codes.
- Voice and video calls: Connect with others through voice and video calls.
- Shared virtual space: Explore a shared mixed-reality space.
- Image board: Browse and share images in a scrollable format.
Your security is a top priority. Here’s how the app keeps you safe:
- Decentralized authentication: No central server is required for login, making it harder for anyone to gain unauthorized access.
- Unique IDs: Your ID is cryptographically random, adding an extra layer of security.
- End-to-end encryption: Your messages are encrypted from your device to the recipient’s device, ensuring only you and the recipient can read them.
- Local data storage: Your data is stored only on your device, not on any external servers.
- Self-hostable: You have the option to host the app on your own server if you prefer.
The app is still in the early stages and I’m exploring what’s possible with this technology. I’d love to hear your feedback on the idea and the current state of the app. If you have any feature requests or ideas, I’m all ears in the comments below!
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
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I remember trying Retroshare… no offline message is the biggest obstacle.
- What does “authentication” mean if there’s no server?
- How do browsers behind NAT connect to each other?
- How does it verify that the other chat partner is who they say they are?
- Why use this and not Simplex?
What does “authentication” mean if there’s no server? - the app uses browser based cryptography functions as described here: https://github.com/positive-intentions/cryptography/blob/staging/src/stories/components/Cryptography.tsx … basically asymmetric and symmetric keys are generated between peers on the initial connection and stored on device (indexedDB). maybe this helps: https://positive-intentions.com/docs/research/authentication/
How do browsers behind NAT connect to each other? - the app is using peerjs and so it also uses the peerjs-server as a connection broker. im investigating things like exchanging webrtc connection data offline with things like qr-codes.
How does it verify that the other chat partner is who they say they are? - the asymmetric keys exchanged after the initial connections. i cant drive home a point more clearly. the first connection should be secure, the peerID is cryptographically random, but i have to defer the responsibility of exchanging this ID to a peer they trust. https://positive-intentions.com/docs/basics/getting-started#security-reminders
Why use this and not Simplex? - this app is a work in progress and not ready to replace anything.
this is a side project and im unable set anything aside for having security professionals take a look. its important to note, i am not a cryptography expert… i just know enough to create the app. i try to make this clear in all of my posts that it is for testing purposes only because it could be irresponsible to advertise this this fully working. while the security attempt is genuine. to fix various issues throught the app, i expect there will be breaking changes.
further more about security assessment; while the app is open source, i found that its too complicated for a security assessment without a budget. this is going to be addressed in a ground up implementation of the p2p framework. https://github.com/positive-intentions/p2p … this will eventually replace what is being used in the app and will make it easier to inspect how it works.
For NAT, there is apparently a way to traverse NAT. I haven’t tried it tho, but the dude has a lot of research on the topic (NAT traversal), so if that didn’t work, maybe others will
Hi I tried your app recently, the main issue that I had was that it had a tendency to drop messages, also the uploading a profile doesn’t currently seem to work (on mobile Firefox at least).
But anyways I love the application concept and it seems like you have made some pretty good progress.
P.s. what is the crypto signature box that you can just draw in?
(Also I think you could probably fit the offline connection into one QR code if you really wanted to (117x117 but still))
thanks for the feedback!
the app is a work in progress and full of bugs and issues. as a side project i can only set aside so much time to do things. the app as you see it is something im approaching with a “release often” approach. this will highlight thing like you are doing for me to prioritize. the profile loading from file is something i havent taken a look at in a while so thanks for that! i will take a look when i can make time for it :)
the cryptography in the app can be a whole separate discussion. but to be brief, the crypto signature input is something the app uses to generate a cryptographically random value… basically whatever you draw (e.g. “a smiley face”) gets converted to a base64 string… then this is passed through a sha-256 hashing function. the idea is that even if you try, you could never draw the “exact” same smiley that would be pixel perfect and result in the same hash. the app also appends this to the cryptographically random value generated from the browsers built-in functions. so that crypto-signature is actually entirely redundent but could address concerns about the device/browser cryptography functions being compromized.
for the QR, i tried to make it a resolution that would be reasonable to view from another phone… to see the data that is being squashed into the QR codes for offline, you can take a look at the details around here. https://github.com/positive-intentions/chat/issues/6 … there is an offline demo described there where instead of QR code it shows the data as plain text (this will include things like IP so you shouldnt be pasting this publicly anywhere… these details generated only exist on your device in memory)
What makes this app unique is that it doesn’t rely on messaging servers to function.
Okay, well, that sounds like a drawback to me?
It depends on how and what you use it for.
WebRTC shares details like ip addresses and if you don’t want those exposed, you shouldn’t use this app. This app is aiming to use true P2P as a step towards true privacy and security.
The app is far from finished.
Matrix is a good implementation and I like how it works. Mine is a work in progress and far from finished. It isn’t ready to replace any app or service. The key detail about my app is that it’s browser based. This has its own limitations with what a webapp can do. I think it makes for a different approach to decentralized chat.
Is there a channel/group to start on?
I’m not sure about what you’re asking. Maybe it’s about getting started? https://youtu.be/KKpu2rXvqfM?si=iWyTv9PzSpcAnsmr
Oh, ok, that was practically it. I just went in to test it yesterday, but had nobody to test with, hence the question about a channel/group. But after this video and a night of sleep, my brain finally caught up. This is not geared towards that, but rather exclusively p2p.
I’m sorry for my dumb question. And thank you again for clarifying.
