Ricochet Refresh is an anonymous instant messaging application that uses the Tor network to establish direct connections between users. It is designed to reduce exposure of personal identities, IP addresses, and communication metadata. Each user operates a Tor onion service that other contacts can connect to. Conversations take place through peer-to-peer connections rather than a centralized messaging server. This architecture eliminates the need for a service provider to relay or store conversations. Users can communicate without registering an account using a phone number or email address. The interface provides straightforward contact management and private text conversations. Ricochet Refresh is based on the original Ricochet messenger and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Features
- Anonymous peer-to-peer instant messaging through the Tor network
- Direct encrypted conversations without centralized messaging servers
- Tor onion service identities that conceal users' public IP addresses
- Private contact management without mandatory phone numbers or email registration
- Reduced exposure of communication metadata through Tor rendezvous connections
- Cross-platform desktop messaging for Windows, macOS, and Linux