Today’s release of TextSecure is the final step in the transition from a private SMS app to a private asynchronous IM app that does not depend on SMS/MMS.
Using the lessons we’ve learned from the SMS environment over the past four years, we’ve developed an open protocol for asynchronous chat that enables private communication instantly with friends, private groups for real-time collaboration, and the ability to quickly and seamlessly share media privately – all without depending on SMS.
At Open Whisper Systems, our objective is to advance the state of the art for secure communication, but also to reduce the friction required for ordinary people to make use of it. We want everyone to have access to advanced secure communication methods that are as easy and reliable to use as making a normal phone call or sending a normal text message.
With an advanced ratchet, enhanced deniability, and an asynchronous orientation, we believe the TextSecure V2 protocol represents a significant step forward in what’s possible for the asynchronous chat environment today.
We’ve also made a substantial effort to simplify the typically difficult user experience that comes with end-to-end encrypted communication. The new TextSecure protocol doesn’t require a round trip key exchange process, eliminates half-open sessions, and is lightning fast – all without compromising forward secrecy or deniability. This creates an experience that takes encryption entirely out of the user’s way. A user simply sends a message, and it’s encrypted end-to-end, every time. Unlike other IM services, there is no distinction between “private” chats and “normal” chats. Private is normal.
The new TextSecure also introduces support for private group chat. Users can now create groups with a title and avatar icon, add their friends, join or leave groups, and exchange messages/media, all with the same end-to-end encryption properties pairwise TextSecure chats provide.
In keeping with our efforts to develop the most privacy-preserving protocols possible, the server does not have access to group metadata such as lists of group members, the group title, or the group avatar icon.
The new TextSecure for Android allows for two possible configurations. By default, TextSecure is configured as an “integrated” chat app with an “iMessage” like experience. TextSecure acts as a normal SMS/MMS app when communicating with non-TextSecure users, but will send messages encrypted over the data channel when the recipient is also a TextSecure user.
Like iMessage, TextSecure uses a color scheme to indicate which transport a message was delivered with. If the data channel is unavailable, messages can fall back to the SMS transport, and secure sessions can transparently migrate back and forth between the two transports.
Alternately, users can configure TextSecure to function similar to WhatsApp, where messages are only ever sent or received over the data channel. In this configuration, communication is restricted exclusively to secure communication with other TextSecure users.
We’ve also done a visual refresh of the entire app, adopting a more modern look and a new icon.
The new TextSecure push transport is a federated protocol, and interoperates transparently with the CyanogenMod deployment of the TextSecure protocol to their 10MM+ users a few months ago.
Now that the new TextSecure for Android is out, Christine and Fred assure us that TextSecure for iOS will be available in short order. The protocol includes support for users to have multiple devices, and Matt is working on a desktop client.
As usual, if you’d like to help with the project, you can contribute code, help file and manage issues, help translate, or donate funds to our BitHub tracker. As with any major new release, there will be bugs, so please help us find them.
In the meantime, get started with the new TextSecure for Android, download it for free!
– Moxie Marlinspike, 24 February, 2014
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