Notices by Cwtch (cwtch@fosstodon.org)

Today we are releasing Cwtch 1.15.4!

Cwtch is a privacy-only p2p messenger based on @torproject v3 onion services.

This release is a small quality of life update, with a bugfix to allow Cwtch to work on older Android devices, improved custom themes support, improved performance, the introduction of more restricted defaults for new contacts, and more.

Changelog/Download: https://docs.cwtch.im/

Please consider donating to @openprivacy so we can continue our mission to build better systems.

@HugeGameArtGD

We would love to be on fdroid, and we have done a lot of work to basically get Cwtch ready, but we need volunteer effort to push it past the finish line.

Cwtch Developers @dan_ballard and @sarahjamielewis will be talking about what we've been up to recently during the @torproject State of the Onion 2024 - Community Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EODNtLqD7f8

@yawnbox

Ah we suspect this might be an encrypted profile, which requires the password entered in the "current password" field to delete - it looks like that field is cut off in the screenshot - which would display a warning underneath it in that case?

Either way the UI is definitely confusing we will look into addressing this, tracking here: https://git.openprivacy.ca/cwtch.im/cwtch-ui/issues/939

There is a new version of @cwtch out (https://docs.cwtch.im/)

Cwtch is a privacy-only p2p messenger based on @torproject v3 onion services.

By privacy-only, we mean privacy-only.

Cwtch provides complete control over what features (groups / file sharing / image previews etc.) are enabled, and every feature which alters the default privacy risk model is explicitly opt-in.

We believe that this level of control is what is it takes to actually take your privacy seriously.

Today we are releasing Cwtch 1.15!

This release features new alpha support for Managed Groups i.e. peer-hosed Cwtch groups, which use the p2p Cwtch protocol rather than the legacy groups.

We have also fixed Cwtch on newer version of Tails, improved the UX around importing unencrypted profiles, and improved rendering of markdown formatting and image previews.

We are also trailing two new release formats: a signed windows installer, and .deb package.

Changelog/Download: https://docs.cwtch.im/blog/cwtch-1-15

@mike we have now finished moving the cwtch site over to a new framework which supports light/dark mode switching

@jbauer No, this is not a legitimate cwtch website - this is an issue we have seen before with bing/ddg (https://mastodon.social/@sarahjamielewis/111852245987954954)

I also tend to bite my tongue these days because the space is filled with messengers who make similar promises regarding metadata resistance while also offering real-time video chat and transparent offline messaging - feats which, if true, I would hail as academic breakthroughs.

Today we are releasing Cwtch 1.14.7 🎉

This fix mainly addresses several long standing issues with Android, but also contains an important update to libCwtch which prevented some contacts from exchanging profile images.

Download: https://cwtch.im/download/

Happy Valentines Day!

Cwtch 1.14.0 is now available to download!

🎨 Custom Theme Support! It is now possible to load new themes into the Cwtch UI and customize it to your liking
🖌️ Additionally, this release contains many small UI fixes and accessibility improvements
🐞 Many small bug fixes including improvements to file sharing on Android, and support for newer versions of Tails.

Download links and change logs: https://docs.cwtch.im/blog/cwtch-1-14

#privacy #cwtch

Fascinating table from a new paper looking at some onion service classification (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2401.13320.pdf)

Setting aside that they seem to have failed to reference some significant prior-art..*ahem*

That "cwtch" is a top-5 key word in a significant cluster related to private messaging leads me to believe that there are:

1. A lot of clone sites out there attempting to deliver malware versions of Cwtch.
2. Many more users of Cwtch than we have estimated.

@yujiri

Awesome - we know this UI is pretty clunky and are actively working on making it better!

For future reference it is also possible to run a standalone server (https://git.openprivacy.ca/cwtch.im/server/) and get a server key that way (some groups also host public cwtch servers and publish details online).

@yujiri

hi! It's a little unclear, and we are currently revamping this, but you can past a server key / group invite into the "Add Contact / Invitation / Key Bundle" input box.

Last week, we mentioned that enhanced permissions are essential to implementing many of the aspects of the new hybrid groups design.

In this small devlog we introduce the new enhanced permissions api in libCwtch, explain why it is needed, and how future releases of Cwtch will manage conversation-level permissions.

https://docs.cwtch.im/blog/enhanced-permissions

Back in September we released Cwtch 1.13, the first version of Cwtch to be labelled as stable, and a major milestone in Cwtch development.

With the Cwtch interface now stable, we are in a position to begin a new phase in Cwtch development: a Path towards Hybrid Groups.

https://docs.cwtch.im/blog/path-to-hybrid-groups

Today we are releasing Cwtch 1.13.2

This is a small point release that bundles the latest version of Tor.

Download: https://cwtch.im/download/

@newbfreud

Briar is designed to provide resilient communications, this includes sharing identifies necessary for local area networking. Because of this Briar has never had a goal to provide anonymity (see the Briar wiki: https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar/-/wikis/FAQ#does-briar-provide-anonymity)

Anonymity is an explicit goal of Cwtch, as such the protocols have been designed to provide against that risk model (See the Cwtch handbook: https://docs.cwtch.im/security/intro)

Today we are releasing Cwtch 1.13.1

This is a small point release that fixes emoji rendering on Windows, in addition to clarifying the UX when setting "start offline" mode.

Download: https://cwtch.im/download/

@kuijsten it is still in very early development: https://git.coopcloud.tech/decentral1se/cairde