Olvid

Olvid is an end-to-end encrypted instant messenger developed in France, with clients for iOS, Android, iPadOS, macOS, Windows and Linux that synchronise without a master device. Its security model does away with a trusted third party: there is no central directory of users, and contacts are identified by a direct key exchange rather than by a phone number or email address, so no personal data and no address-book access are required. Every message and attachment uses a single-use ephemeral key, and the metadata around a conversation is encrypted too, so the servers relaying traffic cannot tell who is talking to whom. Paid tiers add secure audio and video calls.

Olvid's design has been reviewed publicly rather than only in-house. It holds ANSSI Security Visas (CSPN certification) for its iOS client (0.8.2) and its Android client (0.9.2) — the first instant messenger to hold two — after full source-code evaluation by the assessment centre Synacktiv. The cryptographic protocols were formally validated by Michel Abdalla of ENS and CNRS. Client and server source code sits on public GitHub; the Android build ships through F-Droid. The French government has adopted Olvid for its own communications, and users include the RAID unit of the French National Police and the Val d'Oise bar association.

Olvid is an independent French company based in Paris. The mobile apps were open sourced in 2021 and the message-distribution server code followed. A free tier is funded by paid options and online Olvid Business licences rather than by advertising or data exploitation. Attachments are relayed through the European host Clever Cloud, and on-premises deployment is available for organisations that keep traffic on their own infrastructure. Olvid won the FIC 2020 Startup Award.