Stoat is a messaging app and team collaboration tool, similar to Discord, that emphasizes privacy and user control. It lets users chat, organize groups, and collaborate without requiring phone numbers, real-name profiles, or invasive data collection.

Messages are end-to-end encrypted by default, metadata is kept to a minimum, and users stay in control of how much information they share. Stoat is designed for communities and teams that want modern chat features without the surveillance-heavy tradeoffs of mainstream platforms.

What makes Stoat different from Signal or WhatsApp?

Stoat is built around minimizing identity exposure from the start. You don't need a phone number, contacts aren't auto-uploaded, and the app avoids tying accounts to real-world identifiers. That design choice appeals to people who want messaging without leaving an obvious social graph behind.

Does Stoat actually offer end-to-end encryption?

Yes. Messages are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the sender and recipient can read them. Even Stoat itself can't see message contents, and the service is designed to retain as little metadata as possible compared to mainstream messengers.

Can Stoat replace my everyday messaging apps?

For most people, probably not yet. Stoat works best for small groups, one-to-one chats, or sensitive conversations. It lacks some convenience features and network effects that make apps like WhatsApp or iMessage easy for everyday use with family and coworkers.

What happened to Revolt (previous name)?

After four years of building Revolt, it got rebranded in to what Stoat is today to better reflect the team's mission and its community.

Features

Text channels, done right.

Attach images. @mention users. Link to websites. Welcome to the 21st century.

Build your community.

Fine-grained permissions? Mod tools? Bots for some extra spice? We've got it all.

Make it yours.

Stoat looks exactly how you want it to. Also, free and open-source. Really.

Secure and confidential.

Respects your privacy. No ads, no trackers. Made in Europe, motherland of GDPR.

Next-gen DMs and groups.

Send a friend request and you're good to go. It's that easy.

What's New

Introducing new voice features and an improved messaging experience. This update brings a host of improvements to voice chats along with an improved messaging experience.

Improved Text Editor

We're replacing the message box with something more usable, we've brought back and improved the experience from the legacy client, featuring rich text preview while not intruding on what you're typing.

Improved Voice Chats v2 Support

The app now supports a host of Voice Chats v2 features.
With an all new improved user interface. You can now also see users who are in voice chat in the server sidebar. And if you navigate away, the voice chat stays accessible.

Other Fixes and Improvements

  • Create/delete categories through the context menu. (marcy: #491)
  • Fix legibility of information in the image viewer. (amycatgirl: #488)
  • Add permission entries for everyone/role mentions. (amycatgirl: #484)
  • Various improvements to navigation and home page. (marcy: #483, #475)
  • Fix various validation and visual issues with link warnings. (Aeledfyr: #476, #478)
  • Preserve replies when sending GIFs. (pparaxan: #474)
  • Add integration testing to prevent broken builds going to production.
  • Fix the client trying to send more than maximum attachments when many are selected.
  • Fix wordmark showing dark on dark theme.
  • Publish stoat.js and stoat-api packages to npmjs.
  • Internally switch to bigints for permissions.
  • Don't permit adding more replies than maximum. (marcy: #495)
  • Reimplement adding bots via Discover. (amycatgirl: #504)
  • Add a context menu to attachments. (amycatgirl: #479)
  • Make reply previews non-interactive. (Aeledfyr: #498)
  • Fix logic error in forms preventing submission.