A Guide to Signal Alternatives: Session & Briar

Signal is excellent, but specialized situations demand specialized tools. This guide covers two alternatives for high-stakes scenarios.

• Session: Use when your primary threat is anonymity (hiding your identity).
• Briar: Use when your primary threat is network failure (internet/cell shutdown).

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1. Session: The Anonymous Messenger

• Core Technology: Uses a decentralized onion routing network (similar to Tor) to hide your IP address. It does not require a phone number, using a randomly generated Session ID instead.
• Setup & OPSEC:
  1. Create your ID. Securely back up your recovery phrase offline. Losing this phrase means losing your account forever.
  2. Be aware of the trade-offs: messages are slower than Signal, but provide a much higher degree of anonymity.

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2. Briar: The Resilient Messenger

• Core Technology: A peer-to-peer messenger with no central server. It can sync messages directly between phones using Bluetooth or local Wi-Fi, bypassing the internet entirely.
• Setup & OPSEC:
  1. Create your account and set a strong password. There is no password recovery.
  2. Add contacts in person by scanning QR codes. This is the most secure method and is core to Briar’s security model.
  3. Use the ‘Blogs’ and ‘Forums’ features for secure one-to-many communication within your trusted, offline group.