Parlons!a conversation with no center

Get started with Parlons

Parlons is private chat with no company in the middle. Your messages are sealed on your device and carried by relays that people like you run. There is no sign-up, no phone number and no account with anyone.

What you install depends on one question.

Chat on this device, or one account on every device?

On this device. Install the Parlons app on an Android phone or a computer. It creates your identity right there, as 24 words, and you can chat a minute later.

One account on every device. Run a small always-on program, a Parlons account, on a machine that stays on. Then pair your phones and computers to it with Parlons Cloud. You get the same chats everywhere, and messages wait for you while a phone is off. This is the only way an iPhone can receive messages while the app is closed.

AndroidThe full app. Your identity lives on the phone. Android 9 or newer.APK · 0.6.145 MacParlons Desktop, signed and notarized. Apple silicon, macOS 13 or newer.DMG · 1.5.115 WindowsParlons Desktop for your user, no administrator needed. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.MSI · 1.5.115 LinuxParlons Desktop for 64-bit Debian, Ubuntu and their relatives.DEB · 1.5.115 iPhone and Parlons CloudPair a phone with an always-on account by scanning one QR code.Android APK · 0.2.90 · iOS 17+ Run your own accountOne command on a Mac, a Linux box, a Raspberry Pi or a VPS. No port forwarding.Parlons Cloud · 0.11.123

Download

Every download is on the releases page, signed by its authors, with checksums.

You haveDownloadThen
An Android phoneparlons-0.6.145.apkInstall on Android
A Mac (Apple silicon)MaximaNode-1.5.115-notarized.dmgInstall on a Mac
A Windows PCMaximaNode-1.5.115.msiInstall on Windows
A Linux PCmaximanode_1.5.115_amd64.debInstall on Linux
An Android phone, paired to an accountparlons-cloud-portal-0.2.90-release.apkInstall Parlons Cloud
An iPhoneNot in the App Store yetParlons Cloud for iPhone
A machine that stays onThe one-line installer belowRun your own account

To run your own account on a Mac, Linux, a Raspberry Pi or a VPS, open a terminal and paste:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eurobuddha/maxima/main/ops/get-parlons-cloud.sh | bash

It installs Java if needed, fetches the newest release and checks its checksum, registers a service that survives reboots, and ends by drawing the QR code your phone scans.

The manuals

Each manual walks through every feature, step by step.

Parlons! manualThe Android app and Parlons Desktop: identity, contacts, chats, groups, photos, files, calls, payments, the network, backups and troubleshooting.For everyone Parlons Cloud manualUsing an always-on account from your phone, inviting your other devices and friends, and hosting accounts on your own machine or a server.Account holders and hosts Parlons Node manualA full Minima node, a relay and your account in one process: install, configure, put TLS in front, upgrade and troubleshoot.Operators

Three things everyone should know

  1. Your 24 words are your identity and a wallet. Write them on paper when they are shown and keep the paper offline. Never photograph them. Whoever holds them is you. Read Security and privacy.
  2. Your address is a key, not a phone number. Share it as a QR code from the Contacts screen. Adding someone is a handshake: you introduce yourself, and they appear once they answer.
  3. Nobody runs Parlons for you. Relays carry sealed messages and cannot read them. The Android app and the desktop help carry the network when it is safe to, and an account you run can be a relay for others too.

If something goes wrong

Each manual ends with a troubleshooting section: the apps, accounts, hosting and nodes. Anything else goes to the issue tracker. Include the app version and your platform.