Jami is a free, open source, fully peer-to-peer encrypted messenger with no central server. See its history, features, and how it compares to Signal.
Jami is a free and open source messaging and calling platform built around a genuinely peer-to-peer architecture: conversations travel directly between participants' devices rather than through a company's servers. It is developed by Savoir-faire Linux, a Montreal-based open source firm, and traces its roots to the SFLphone VoIP project launched in December 2004, later renamed Ring in 2015 and finally Jami in 2018.
As an official GNU package backed by the Free Software Foundation, Jami occupies a distinct niche among privacy messengers: rather than merely encrypting traffic that still passes through central servers (as Signal does), Jami eliminates the server from the data path entirely using a distributed hash table for peer discovery, so there is no company that could be compelled to hand over message content because none is ever stored centrally.
Jami supports one-to-one and group text messaging, audio and video calls, multi-party video conferencing, and screen sharing, all end-to-end encrypted by default. It can also function as a standard SIP client, letting it interoperate with existing telephony systems, and its swarm-based conversation model keeps multiple linked devices in sync without a server acting as the source of truth.
Because no personal information is required to create an account, and communication can even happen over a local network without internet access, Jami is popular in privacy-sensitive contexts. Its extension system allows optional add-ons like call recording or background blur, and the app is available on GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Android TV.
Jami is entirely free, with no subscription tiers, ads, or feature restrictions of any kind; every capability, including group video calls and file sharing, is available to all users at no cost. This reflects both its GNU/GPLv3 licensing and the fact that it has no central infrastructure to monetize, since calls and messages route directly between users' own devices.
Savoir-faire Linux, the company behind Jami, sustains the project through its broader open source consulting business, community contributions, and free-software grants and sponsorships rather than through Jami itself, which has no paid plan to compare against.
Yes, Jami is completely free and open source with no subscription fees, ads, or feature limits.
Jami is developed by Savoir-faire Linux, a Montreal, Canada-based open source software and consulting company, and is an official GNU package backed by the Free Software Foundation.
No. Jami uses a distributed hash table for peer discovery and routes messages and calls directly between users' devices, so it has no central server storing conversation content.
Jami began as SFLphone in December 2004, was renamed Ring in May 2015, and was renamed again to Jami in December 2018.
Jami is available on GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Android TV, with multi-device sync for a single account.
Signal encrypts messages end-to-end but still routes them through centralized servers operated by the Signal Foundation, while Jami eliminates servers from the data path entirely using peer-to-peer connections.