SimpleX Chat7.0.1

SimpleX Chat is a free open-source, instant communication software that can be used on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. It does not require a mobile phone number, a mailbox or a fixed user name, and contacts are connected by a one-off invitation link or 2-dimensional code. Those who wish to reduce the exposure to account information and who are willing to invite their relatives and friends to use new chat tools can use it as an option for daily private communications.

It supports text, pictures, documents, voice messages and one-to-one video calls and can also create clusters and channels. It was also clear that the threshold was to be used, that both parties were to install SimpleX Chat and that the first contact would require the exchange of links or sweep codes. It does not communicate directly with platforms such as Twitter, QQQ, Signal and currently does not support group audio and video calls.

Core functions

SimpleX Chat does not assign a long-term identifier to users that can be retrieved from the entire web. Each contact relationship uses a separate connection address, and the server is responsible for forwarding encrypted data, but does not keep a public directory of all user/contact relationships. Personal data, contacts and clusters are mainly kept on equipment, and proactive data migration is required before reloading or reloading.

Messages are encrypted from end to end and add additional protection to the data transmitted. Regular chats can edit, quote and delete messages, as well as send pictures, files, voice and time-bound disappearance messages. The real-time message function will gradually send the complete word during the input process and will be able to pass the content out as soon as the connection is unstable. Cluster managers can manage members and handle inappropriate messages.

A one-to-one contact can initiate end-to-end encrypted voice or video calls. Default settings reduce the possibility of exposing IP addresses to contacts through relays, which can still observe limited information such as the length of the call. Users familiar with the network configuration can switch to their own webRTC relay. Contacts may see each other ‘s IP addresses when you close the relay to connect the point to point.

Product characteristics

The software breaks each link into a separate link and reduces the opportunity to link different social relationships with the same account. Invitation links can be used only once or a fixed address for a permanent contact. Once a key contact is connected, the security code can also be checked face to face or through another credible channel to confirm that the invitation link is not replaced during the transmission.

The official client covers the mobile phone and desktop system and provides a full Chinese-language interface resource. The desktop end can be linked to the cellular end, and the same information continues to be used on the computer. The official note requested that the two devices be connected to the same local area network (LAN) at the time of the link, a step that was more conditional than the regular account entry.

Notification settings require careful selection. iOS provides easier immediate notification and exposes more metadata to the notification server. Android’s notification mode trades between speed of arrival and battery consumption. Users with high privacy needs should read the options note before deciding whether to accept delayed or additional power consumption.

Install and use tutorials

1. Opens the SimpleX Chat official download page. Android can choose Google Play, F-Droid or official APK, iPhone and iPad to use AppStore. Windows, macOS and Linux users download the corresponding desktop version by system and processor structure.
2. Fill in the name of the display after the first start, and leave the full name empty. This information is kept in the current equipment and does not require a registered mobile phone number or mailbox. The notification model is then chosen, with first reading the description of convenience, privacy and electricity consumption.
3. Click on the New Chat button to choose to create a one-time invitation link. You can send the link to a contact person or you can have the other person scan the two-dimensional code directly. It is easier for each contact to distinguish a connection by using a different one-time link.
4. Opens a new chat, selects a link or two-dimensional code connection. Once the connection has been completed, a general message is sent confirming that both sides can receive and receive it. If the invitation link is passed through unreliable channels, contact information is entered and security codes are checked.
5. Click on the revert pin button next to the input box when sending a picture or file. Voice messages use microphone buttons. Enter the session information page when time-limited messages are required, with both parties co-enable the missing messages and set a time limit.
6. To continue chatting on a computer, you can install desktop clients and direct associated mobile phones. Links place the two devices in the same local area network and back up critical information prior to operation.
7. Before changing, reloading or cleaning applied data, export chat databases in data management and set secure database passwords. The information was kept mainly on the equipment and could not be retrieved by re-entry alone.

Apply scene

It can be used by relatives and friends to establish private contacts that do not depend on mobile phone numbers, and small teams can exchange documents and make one-on-one calls. Cross-platform users can continue to process messages between mobile phones and computers. Community managers can create clusters or channels, and organizations with server experience can deploy their own news relays to further master infrastructure.

It is more suitable for a fixed contact willing to co-install the new software. The need to search for unknown user names, to rapidly invite a large number of established social accounts, or to rely on group videoconferencing will encounter obvious limitations. End-to-end encryption is also not a substitute for equipment locking, system updating, malicious document identification and reliable backup.

Free scope and permit

The SimpleX Chat official client can download it free of charge. Basic chats, file transfers, group and one-to-one calls do not subscribe to the functional wall and the interface is not advertised. The project receives donations and undertakes stock-taking. The official road map suggests that large channels and communities may have to bear the cost of their own servers in the future, and that the use of official networks by ordinary contacts is in a different range of costs than the self-deployment of servers.

Client source code is AGPL-3.0. Users can view, modify and reissue the code and also comply with the source requirements of the licence when providing the modified service to network users. Self-deployment of messages, documents or telephone relays will also entail domain names, servers, traffic and maintenance costs.

Use of evaluation

The strengths of SimpleX Chat are concentrated on the low collection of identity information, separation of connections and open client. It maintains a list of sessions, attachments and call portals familiar with regular chat software, and the Chinese-language resources have made it less difficult. The day-to-day use is not complicated when a fixed family, friend or small team is willing to work together.

The real threshold appears in the invitation, migration information and understanding notification settings. The absence of a fixed user ID reduces the connection associated with a centralized account and makes it more prudent to retrieve the contact and cross-equipment login. Those who fit it are usually willing to take additional steps for privacy, and it is not convenient to expect to contact all those who know each other immediately after downloading.

Update Notes

The current steady version is 7.01, published on 18 August 2026. Windows x86_64 Official MSI installation package approximately 253.80 MiB. This version allows Android and the desktop to send WebM files as video, fixes the problem of drafts appearing in another chat while switching sessions, sending real-time messages to an error session, the incomplete display of the database password saver switch, and also recognizes the SimpleX link in Markdown. The official repository was not filed and was still filed on 19 August 2026.