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:
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!