Tor developers have closed the Tor Messenger project. Secure messenger Tor Messenger
PLEASE READ THIS
As of March 2018, Tor Messenger is NO LONGER MAINTAINED and you should NOT use it. Please see the announcement on the blog for more information.
This page is not being deleted but please do not ignore the warning above.
WARNING
Table of Contents
Overview
Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat program that aims to be secure by default and sends all of its traffic over Tor. It supports a wide variety of transport networks, including XMPP, IRC, Twitter, and others; enables Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging automatically; has an easy-to-use graphical user interface; and a secure automatic updater.
See the introductory blog post for more information.
Downloads
There are no Tor Messenger downloads available. See the warning above.
Instructions
On Linux, extract the bundle(s) and then run: ./start-tor-messenger.desktop
On OS X, copy the Tor Messenger application from the disk image to your local disk before running it.
See to determine where the profile folder is stored on your platform.
Note that as a policy, unencrypted one-to-one conversations are not allowed and your messages will not be transmitted if the person you are talking with does not have an OTR-enabled client. You can disable this option in the preferences to allow unencrypted communication but doing so is not recommended.
Documentation
- macOS
Source Code
We are doing automated builds of Tor Messenger for all platforms.
The Linux builds are reproducible: anyone who builds Tor Messenger for Linux should have byte-for-byte identical binaries compared with other builds from a given source. You can build it yourself and let us know if you encounter any problems or cannot match our build. The Windows and OS X builds are not completely reproducible yet but we are
Tor Project specialists announced the termination of the development of the anonymous messenger Tor Messenger. The project was published in 2015, but it never managed to complete the beta testing stage.
Reasons for abandoning Tor Messenger
The developers encountered a number of difficulties that hindered the further implementation of the idea. One of the obstacles was Mozilla's refusal to use the Instantbird messenger, on the basis of which Tor Messenger was implemented. Many of the features of Instantbird were transferred to Thunderbird, but the developers did not have enough resources to redesign the messenger for another platform.
An important problem has become metadata, which is still stored on third-party servers and, therefore, can be accessed by third parties. Despite all the efforts of the developers, it is not yet possible to find a solution to this issue. There is enough metadata to identify with whom the user communicates and how often. This violates the principle of an anonymous messenger.
The company also faced a lack of resources to implement the idea. Due to insufficient personnel, the developers could not work to fulfill the wishes of users. For the same reason, many bug reports were ignored.
Many anonymous messengers are having a hard time. Let us remind you that on March 20, 2018 Roskomnadzor
Description of Tor Messenger
Tor Messenger is launched by the Tor Project. This is a messenger that is based on Instantbird and is designed for instant messaging. Messenger is designed to be simple and private: it integrates the Off-the-Record (OTR) protocol to encrypt messages and forwards them through . At the same time, its work is simple and invisible, like the work of the Tor browser for web data. The messenger is compatible with the XMPP or “Jabber” chat protocol, which is used by millions of Facebook and Google accounts, as well as desktop clients like Adium for Mac and Pidgin for Windows.
What is Tor Messenger?
Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat program that aims to be secure by default and send all its traffic through Tor. It supports a wide range of transport networks, including Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter, Yahoo and others; automatically enables Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging; has an easy to use graphical interface, translated into many languages.
What Tor Messenger is not...
Tor Messenger builds on the networks you're familiar with, so you can continue communicating in the ways you're familiar with. The program has a traditional client-server model, which means that your metadata (especially relationships between contacts) can be recorded by the server. However, your route to the server will be hidden because you are communicating through Tor.
Why Instantbird?
Instantbird transport protocols are written in a memory-safe language (JavaScript); it has a graphical interface and already supports many natural languages; and it is an XUL application, which means that Tor Messenger can rely on both code (Tor Launcher) and internal experience gained by the Tor Project during the development of Tor Browser with Firefox. It also has an active and vibrant software development community. The main feature that Instantbird lacked was OTR support, which the Tor developers implemented. We hope it will be added to the main Instantbird repository so that all Instantbird (and Thunderbird) users can take advantage of this.
Tor Messenger Help
Usage:
./instantbird [ options... ]
Options may be as follows:
X11 options
--display=DISPLAY X display for use
--sync Make X calls synchronous
--g-fatal-warnings Make all warnings fatal
Instantbird Options
-h or --help Print this message.
-v or --version Print version of Instantbird.
-P<профиль> Start from<профилем>.
--profile<путь> Launch with profile in<путь>.
--migration Run the Migration Wizard.
--ProfileManager Launch with profile manager.
--no-remote Do not accept or send remote commands; assumes --new-instance.
--new-instance Open a new instance, not a new window in a running instance.
--UILocale<язык> Start from<языковыми>resources like UI Locale.
--safe-mode Disable extensions and themes for this session.
--jsconsole Open the Error console.
-n Disable automatic login.
-preferences Open only the settings menu.
-silent Do not open your contact list.
-status<статус> Set online status.
<статус> could be: available, away, offline.
Tor Messenger Script Options
--verbose Display Tor and Instantbird output in terminal
--log [file] Log Tor and Instantbird output to a file (default: tor-messenger.log)
--detach Disconnect from the terminal and launch Tor Messenger in the background.
--register-app Register Tor Messenger as a desktop application for a given user
--unregister-app Unregister Tor Messenger as a desktop application for a given user
Tor Messenger Guide
There is no man page.
Please remember that the policy is that unencrypted messaging is not allowed and your messages will not be delivered if the person you are talking to does not have an OTR-enabled client. You can disable this option in Settings to allow unencrypted communication, but this is not recommended.
What else will be done
The current focus is on security, robustness and user experience. Some features include:
Installing Tor Messenger
Installing Tor Messenger on Kali Linux
Unpacking the archive
Go to the catalog
Cd tor-messenger/
Open one of the files with a text editor
Leafpad Messenger/start-tor-messenger
If [ "`id -u`" -eq 0 ]; then
change 0 to 1, that is, like this
If [ "`id -u`" -eq 1 ]; then
Let's launch
Installing Tor Messenger on Linux
Download (at the time of reading, the address of the latest version will probably be different):
Wget https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.1.0b2/tor-messenger-linux64-0.1.0b2_en-US.tar.xz
Unpacking the archive
Tar xvJf tor-messenger-linux64*
Go to the catalog
Cd tor-messenger/
Let's launch
./start-tor-messenger.desktop
Installing Tor Messenger on Windows
Download the latest .exe file and run the installation:
Installing Tor Messenger on OS X
Download the latest .dmg file and run the installation:
On all platforms, Tor Messenger will create a profile directory for Firefox/Instantbird in the installation directory.
Screenshots of Tor Messenger
Tor Messenger- a cross-platform chat client that is designed for secure communication - all traffic passes through the Tor network.
The program is based on the Instantbird client, developed by the Mozilla community, and supports a wide range of transport networks, including Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Twitter, Yahoo, etc., Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging cryptographic technology , and also has an easy-to-use graphical interface translated into various languages.
Tor Messenger supports systems familiar to all users, so you can continue communicating with the desired contacts. Traditionally, these systems have a client-server model, which means all your metadata (particularly relationships between contacts) can be logged by the server. However, your route to the server will be hidden because the connection is made through the anonymous Tor network.
Specialized Pond and Ricochet systems also solve this problem, so their use is encouraged.
Why Instantbird?
A unique feature of Instantbird is that the transport protocols are written in a memory-safe language (JavaScript). The program has a graphical interface and supports many language localizations. Instantbird has its own XUL application - this means that Instantbird can be used in Tor Browser based on Firefox and other applications on the XULRunner platform. The program has an active and dynamic developer community.
Note: As of March 2018, Tor Messenger is NO LONGER MAINTAINED so its developers advise you not to use it. However, you can still download a copy on our website.
Tor Messenger aims to provide a secure way to communicate with your friends by re-routing the messages you send through the Tor network. In other words, it delivers a cryptographically secure IM application that can be used to exchange messages without worrying that they might be intercepted.
Set up your accounts and the Tor network connection
Thanks to the integrated configuration assistant, getting things ready with Tor Messenger is just a matter of pressing a few "Next" buttons. You must first connect your PC to the Tor network, and the assistant offers you all the instructions to do so without effort, even if your Internet connection is censored.
Next, you are prompted to choose the protocol of your first account. Tor Messenger comes with support for a variety of account types, including Facebook, Google Talk, Twitter, IRC, XMPP, Yahoo, and Odnoklassniki.
Obviously, you can connect to more than one account, managing all the connections from the "Accounts" window. Here, you can check out the connection status, access the debug logs and add new accounts to Tor Messenger.
The familiar look of an IM client, extra security
Tor Messenger"s main window is similar to that of any IM client, allowing you to set a status message and create an alias for your accounts. You can add new contacts and initiate new conversations, and join chat rooms.
The tab-based chat window enables you to start multiple conversations at the same time. You get the same simple layout you would have when using online clients, with the extra benefit that your messages are encrypted and your identity is truly protected. Furthermore, the feature set of Tor Messenger can be enriched using addons, including new themes, message styles, and so on.
No compromise on security during chatting sessions
Based on InstantBird, Tor Messenger offers a simple way to encrypt conversations and conceal the real identity of the chat partners. Using Tor as its underlying network, it succeeds in encrypting all the sent messages before sending. But please note that both interlocutors must deploy an OTR-enabled client for the messages to be sent and received.