Hi HN! I'm abokenan444, a solo developer based in the Netherlands.
I built Shield Messenger because I wanted a communication tool that truly respects metadata privacy—something even Signal doesn't fully protect (they still know who talks to whom).
What makes Shield different:
1. Tor-native by design – All traffic (messages, voice, wallet) routes through Tor. No exceptions. No FCM/APNs. We even built a custom "Tor Push + Smart Sleep Mode" that improves battery life by 400% while maintaining instant delivery.
2. Post-quantum ready – Uses hybrid KEM (X25519 + ML-KEM-1024) for key exchange. Your messages are safe even against future quantum computers.
3. Aethernet integration – When internet is down, it automatically switches to community mesh networks (LibreMesh-based). Perfect for protests, disasters, or remote areas.
4. Built-in wallet – Real Solana + Zcash support with local transaction signing. Keys never leave your device. You can send crypto directly in chat.
Technical stack: - Core: Rust (post-quantum crypto, Tor Arti integration) - Android: Kotlin (with biometric unlock) - iOS: SwiftUI (coming soon) - Web: React + PWA
Current status: Late beta. The core is stable, voice calls work well, and battery life is finally acceptable after months of optimization. Video calls are intentionally disabled to focus on reliability.
Looking for: Security researchers and privacy enthusiasts to audit the code and break things. The entire codebase is open source:
https://github.com/abokenan444/shield-messenger
I'll be here all day answering questions. Would love to hear your feedback, especially on the crypto core and the new Tor sleep mode!
Hi HN! I'm abokenan444, a solo developer based in the Netherlands.
I built Shield Messenger because I wanted a communication tool that truly respects metadata privacy—something even Signal doesn't fully protect (they still know who talks to whom).
*What makes Shield different:*
1. *Tor-native by design* – All traffic (messages, voice, wallet) routes through Tor. No exceptions. No FCM/APNs. We even built a custom "Tor Push + Smart Sleep Mode" that improves battery life by 400% while maintaining instant delivery.
2. *Post-quantum ready* – Uses hybrid KEM (X25519 + ML-KEM-1024) for key exchange. Your messages are safe even against future quantum computers.
3. *Aethernet integration* – When internet is down, it automatically switches to community mesh networks (LibreMesh-based). Perfect for protests, disasters, or remote areas.
4. *Built-in wallet* – Real Solana + Zcash support with local transaction signing. Keys never leave your device. You can send crypto directly in chat.
*Current status:* Late beta. The core is stable, voice calls work well, and battery life is finally acceptable after months of optimization. Video calls are intentionally disabled to focus on reliability.
*Looking for:* Security researchers and privacy enthusiasts to audit the code and break things. The entire codebase is open source: