Get Aphotic for Android
Aphotic comes as a single Android file that you download here and check yourself, without a store account or any record of you installing it. A Google Play listing is coming as a second option for people who'd rather install the ordinary way. The direct download stays the private route, because Play ties every install to your Google account.
On a computer? Scan this with your phone's camera to open this page there. The app installs on Android.
From zero to encrypted
> 1. Buy a license
Pick a plan and pay with Monero or Bitcoin. You get a 16-character license key back. That key is the only thing you need to keep.
Open the store →> 2. Install the APK
Download the file below, check it using the next section, and install it. Android will ask you to allow installs from this source, and Play Protect may warn you about an app it doesn't recognise. Both are normal for anything installed outside the Play Store, and the warning only means Google has never seen this app before. The two checks below do the vouching that Google would otherwise do.
> 3. First launch
The app asks you for one thing: your license key. Type it in or scan the QR code from your order. The server address is already built in, so there's nothing to configure. Aphotic then starts its own Tor, shows you how far along it is, and activates your license over it.
Check the file, wherever you got it
Anyone can put a file on a website and call it Aphotic. Two quick checks prove the one you're holding is exactly the one we built, byte for byte.
Check the file hash
Every file has a fingerprint that changes completely if even one byte is altered. Work out the fingerprint of your download and compare it with the one we publish. On Linux or macOS:
sha256sum c-chat.apk # compare with the contents of c-chat.apk.sha256
Check the signing certificate
The file on this page is signed with a key only the operator holds, and that signature can't be forged or transferred. With Android's build tools installed you can print the signature and compare it with the fingerprint below. An install from Google Play carries Google's signature instead, because Play re-signs every app it hands out, so this check only applies to the direct download:
apksigner verify --print-certs c-chat.apk
Expected signature fingerprint (SHA-256)
46576af413227f3826d0ab9ebd88a9828de739b3116a493e21717f102a2de922
Updates arrive through the app itself
Aphotic updates itself over Tor. It picks up signed updates from the same server it already talks to and checks each one against a key baked into the app before installing it. An update with a signature that doesn't match is thrown away, and one that fails partway through undoes itself.
A bigger upgrade that changes the parts written in native code arrives the same way. The app downloads the signed APK over Tor, checks it against the same key and against its own signing certificate, and hands it to Android's installer, which asks you to confirm.
One platform
Aphotic runs on Android only. There's no iPhone or desktop app, and we won't promise either. Your identity is meant to live on exactly one device, and we'd rather do one platform properly. The roadmap page shows what is planned.
Questions before you install?
The FAQ covers licenses, checking the download, and what happens the first time you open the app.