Briar

United Kingdom Messaging & chat

A peer-to-peer encrypted messenger designed for activists, journalists, and anyone who needs resilient communication. Messages sync directly between devices over Tor, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth - with no central servers - built by a European non-profit with EU public funding.

Quick facts

Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Company The Briar Project
Founded 2011
Ownership Non-profit
Infrastructure None
Data jurisdiction UK
Open source Full
GDPR Compliant
Pricing Free · from Free
Free tier Yes
Platforms Android, Desktop
Languages
ENDEFRESIT
55 · Mixed Origins
Get Briar

Why does it score 55?

Legal jurisdiction
European HQ (outside EU/EFTA)
18/30
Ownership & control
Non-profit ownership
25/25
Data sovereignty
Unknown / non-European infrastructure
0/30
Accountability & trust
Fully open source + GDPR
12/15
EuroPoints total
55/100
How we calculate EuroPoints →

See how they compare

Briar
Signal
Olvid
EuroPoints
55 Mixed Origins
44 Not Very European
100 Certified European
Legal jurisdiction
European HQ (outside EU/EFTA)18/30
HQ outside Europe0/30
EU member-state HQ30/30
Ownership & control
Non-profit ownership25/25
Non-profit ownership25/25
Independent ownership25/25
Data sovereignty
Unknown / non-European infrastructure0/30
Mixed infrastructure (−5 US jurisdiction)7/30
Own infrastructure30/30
Accountability & trust
Fully open source + GDPR12/15
Fully open source + GDPR12/15
Partially open source + GDPR10/15
Independence bonus
—
—
Bootstrapped, no outside investors5/5
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Mountain View, United States
Paris, France
Founded
2011
2013
2019
Open source
Full
Full
Partial
Infrastructure
None
Mixed infrastructure
Own infrastructure
GDPR
✓
✓
✓
Free tier
✓
✓
✓
Pricing
Free · from Free
Free · from Free
Freemium · from Free
Platforms
Android, Desktop
iOS, Android, Desktop
iOS, Android, Desktop
Languages
en, de, fr, es, it
en, de, fr, es, it, pt, nl, ar, zh, ja, ko, ru
en, fr, de, es, it

What does it replace?

Whatsapp Telegram Signal Wechat

More European Messaging & chat alternatives

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#3

Threema

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#4

SimpleX Chat

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See SimpleX Chat details
#5

Session

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See Session details