/cryptocat

Web chat client with client-side cryptography.

Primary LanguageJavaScriptGNU Affero General Public License v3.0AGPL-3.0

Cryptocat

Web chat client with client-side cryptography.

https://crypto.cat - http://xdtfje3c46d2dnjd.onion

Experimental software: Don't trust with your life! Peer review appreciated.

Cryptocat lets you instantly set up secure conversations. It aims to be an open source encrypted and private alternative to other services such as Facebook chat.

Cryptocat Versions - convenience and security

  • Cryptocat is code to place on a web server. In addition to providing the Cryptocat server to which clients can connect to, this code provides a HTTPS-accessible web interface that works on modern mobile and desktop browsers. This interface is for convenience: connecting using a browser or native mobile app (such as Cryptocat Chrome or Cryptocat for Android) remains more recommended for security.
  • Cryptocat Chrome is a Google Chrome app that loads code locally and connects to a Cryptocat server only to communicate chat data and the server is only used for discovering other peers and to relay encrypted messages between peers. No code is trusted from the server.
  • Cryptocat for Android is a native Android app developed in collaboration with the Guardian Project. It includes the full Cryptocat program and connects to a Tor hidden service through the Tor anonymity network by default thanks to Orbot integration from the Guardian Project.

A native iPhone, Blackberry and other versions are possible thanks to the Guardian Project and PhoneGap but these are not yet implemented. If you're using these platforms, we encourage you to try the web application in the meantime.

Cool features

  • Client-side Elliptic Curve 25519 Cryptography.
  • AES-256 encryption, HMAC integrity verification
  • The identity of chatters can be confirmed via key fingerprints, à la OTR.
  • Uses the Fortuna secure pseudo-randomness generator.
  • Send encrypted .zip files and images.
  • Mobile compatibility.
  • Easily invite your Facebook contacts to join your Cryptocat session.
  • Send private messages that can only be seen by a single recipient.
  • A sleek design with time-stamping, optional audio notifications, fluid-window mode, and mobile support.
  • Translations available for French, Catalan, Basque, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish.

Architecture & Lifecycle

Please review the Cryptocat Architecture & Lifecycle Document for information on how the development process is organized.

Protocol Specification

A design specification for the Cryptocat protocol is available. In the future, the crypto will be entirely replaced with mpOTR for multi-party chat and OTR for private chatting between peers.

License

Cryptocat is released under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL3):

Copyright (C) 2011, 2012 Nadim Kobeissi nadim@nadim.cc

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

The full license text is included in LICENSE.txt.

Installation instructions

Cryptocat

  1. run make build-server.
  2. run make DESTDIR=/var/www/ install-server, replacing /var/www/ with your intended web directory.
  3. Configure settings inside index.php.

Cryptocat Chrome

  1. Run make build-chrome-zip in order to generate a Google Chrome-loadable .zip

Cryptocat for Android

Under development! Compile for testing only!

  1. Run make build-android-apk in order to build an Android package.

Important notes

  • Cryptocat provides strongly encrypted, secure communications. However, it is not a replacement to OTR, GPG or other strong cryptography. Think responsibly; if you are in extreme, life-threatening situations: don't use it!

  • Using Cryptocat without HTTPS in a production environment is a recipe for disaster. We severely warn against deploying Cryptocat without HTTPS, unless the deployment is occurring as a Tor Hidden Service.

  • We suggest you use a native client for your platform and consider the web interface to be for convenience and for demonstrations.

  • In the future the underlying crypto will be entirely replaced with mpOTR and OTR.

  • The code for secure deletion of idle chats after one hour is not included in the Cryptocat git repository. On the production server, it's actually a cron job that checks the modification time of chats and wipes them securely. Those wanting to set up similar functionality should consider writing something similar.

About

Cryptocat™ is a trademark of and is developed by Nadim Kobeissi. It uses parts of the crypto-js library and the Bitcons iconset.