Start a temporary session
Relay shows a temporary Session ID. The owner sets or generates a temporary Join Phrase or pass sentence.
Private messaging infrastructure
Private messages for people you actually trust.
Relay is a self-hosted, end-to-end encrypted messenger for small trusted groups, built so trusted devices can read messages and servers cannot.
For approved Relay users.
Relay Web
Trusted session
Connection state
Encrypted on trusted devices
Plain privacy
Privacy should be the default path.
Relay is designed around a simple boundary: devices you trust can read the conversation. Infrastructure routes encrypted data without becoming the trusted party.
End-to-end encrypted conversations
Ciphertext-only server posture
Temporary web access, not permanent browser trust
Coming to Relay Web
Relay Sessions: private rooms with a code, a phrase, and a human at the door.
Relay Sessions is an upcoming Relay Web mode for temporary encrypted browser conversations. Start a session, share a temporary Session ID and Join Phrase with the people you choose, approve each joiner, chat, and end the room when you are done. No account. No username. No phone number. No permanent identity. No history restore.
Invite with intent
Intended people go to the generic Relay Sessions page and manually enter the Session ID and Join Phrase.
Approve each joiner
The correct phrase only lets someone request access. The session owner manually approves each joiner before they enter.
End without a thread
Approved joiners enter an encrypted RAM-only session. When the owner ends it, or it expires, browser state is wiped and temporary broker state is deleted.
Session ID
Where to knock.
Join Phrase
Proof you were invited.
Owner approval
Human at the door.
E2EE
The privacy boundary.
RAM-only
No history, replay, or recovery.
Invite handling
For best privacy, do not send the full invite over SMS, email, Slack, Teams, or other logged channels. Share the Session ID and Join Phrase separately, or share them in person. Anyone who sees both can request to join, but the session owner still approves every joiner before they enter.
Relay should never put the Join Phrase in a URL. The safest default is a generic website URL plus manual Session ID and Join Phrase entry. QR codes may be useful for in-person joining, but should be clearly labeled if they contain sensitive join material.
Trust boundary
Relay Sessions are designed so the relay server routes encrypted session traffic but does not receive message plaintext, private keys, room keys, or raw Join Phrases. Public Sessions are intended to be isolated from private Relay infrastructure.
Relay Sessions minimizes metadata, but network services may still process limited information such as connection timing and IP-level abuse-prevention data. Relay should not be described as magically metadata-free.
RAM-only by design
Relay Sessions are temporary RAM-only rooms. There is no account, inbox, history, replay, or recovery. Ending or expiring a session deletes the temporary room state. Relay cannot erase screenshots, copied text, browser extensions, operating-system memory, network logs, or anything another participant saved outside Relay.
Designed for
Temporary conversations that should not become permanent threads.
- Sensitive temporary conversations
- Incident or ops war rooms
- Moving a private part of a conversation out of a logged channel
- Anonymous but intentional group discussion
- Private pre-consult or vendor/client discussion
Small groups
Built for small groups, not the whole internet.
Family coordination
Keep plans, check-ins, and sensitive family details in a place meant for your group.
Private operations
Coordinate practical work without asking the server to become part of the conversation.
Small trusted teams
Use a focused messenger for people who already know why they are in the room.
Recovery workflows
Support careful recovery steps with clear trust boundaries and fewer permanent surfaces.
What Relay is not
No ads. No trackers. No surveillance angle.
- Not ad-tech
- Not surveillance software
- Not a mass-market social network
- Not a promise of anonymity
Status
Private development / early testing.
Relay is currently being tested as a daily-driver Android messenger, with web access and production hardening in progress.
Android daily-driver testing
Self-hosted backend
Web access hardening
Security-first release process