palimpsest

Private messaging where even we can't read your chats.

Palimpsest is an end-to-end encrypted messenger built for people who want real privacy—not just a lock icon. Messages, attachments, reactions, and calls are encrypted on your device before they ever leave it. We operate a transient mailbox relay: encrypted envelopes are forwarded to recipients and removed from our servers after delivery. Your conversation history lives on your device, not in our cloud.

WHY PALIMPSEST?

• True end-to-end encryption — X25519 key exchange, XSalsa20-Poly1305, and Ed25519 signing. Zero-knowledge by design.
• Keys stay on your device — Your private encryption keys never leave your phone in plaintext.
• No phone number required — Sign in with email. Connect via a unique 6-word key or QR code.
• Transient relay, not an archive — We forward encrypted traffic; we don't hoard your chats on our servers.
• Local-first — Chats load instantly from encrypted storage on your device. Sync when online, retry when offline.
• Lock it down — App PIN, biometrics, per-chat PIN lock, and auto-lock timers.
• More than text — Voice messages, photos, video attachments, reactions, replies, and read receipts.
• Encrypted calls — Voice and video calls over WebRTC with privacy-preserving push alerts (no message content in notifications).
• You control your contacts — Accept or decline contact requests. Block users. No public phone-book discovery.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Sign in with your email and a one-time verification code.
2. Set a device PIN to protect your local keys and decrypted data.
3. Share your unique word key or QR code so trusted contacts can reach you.
4. Chat, call, and share media — all encrypted end-to-end.

SECURITY YOU CAN VERIFY

Palimpsest uses industry-standard cryptography: X25519 for key agreement, NaCl secretbox for symmetric encryption, and Ed25519 for digital signatures. Push notifications are intentionally generic—they never include message plaintext. Optional encrypted key backup stores PIN-locked ciphertext on our servers; we cannot restore your keys without your PIN.

WHAT WE DON'T DO

• No ads
• No selling your data
• No reading your message content—we can't decrypt it
• No requiring a phone number or SIM card

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

Because Palimpsest is end-to-end encrypted, we cannot recover a lost PIN, lost device, or undelivered messages. This is inherent to strong encryption, not a bug. Store your recovery phrase securely if you enable account backup.

Account deletion: visit palimpsest.app/delete-account or contact legal@palimpsest.app.

COMING SOON

Tor routing, disappearing messages, and decoy PIN are on our roadmap and not yet available in this release.

Palimpsest v1.0.0 • X25519 + NaCl • Ed25519

Your words belong to you—not to us. We provide the pipes; you hold the keys.