Whether it's corporations or governments, digital surveillance today is widespread. Tox is easy-to-use software that connects you with friends and family without anyone else listening in. While other big-name services require you to pay for features, Tox is completely free and comes without advertising --- forever.
Voice
Keep in touch with friends and family using Tox's completely free and encrypted voice calls.
Video
Catch up face to face, over Tox's secure video calls.
Screen sharing
Share your desktop with your friends with Tox's screen sharing.
File sharing
Trade files, with no artificial limits or caps.
Groups
Chat, call, and share video and files with the whole gang in Tox's group chats.
What makes Tox different?
Tox is made by the people who use it - people fed up with the existing options that spy on us, track us, censor us, and keep us from innovating.
There are no corporate interests, and no hidden agendas. Just simple and secure messaging that is easy to use.
Encrypted
Everything you do with Tox is encrypted using open-source libraries. The only people who can see your conversations are the people you're talking with.
Distributed
Tox has no central servers that can be raided, shut down, or forced to turn over data - the network is made up of its users. Say goodbye to server outages!
Free
Tox is free software. That's free as in freedom, as well as in price. This means Tox is yours - to use, modify, and share - because Tox is developed by and for the users.
Note: Tox is still under heavy development - expect to run into some bugs.
Tox began a few years ago, in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaks regarding NSA spying activity. The idea was to create an instant messaging application that ran without requiring the use of central servers. The system would be distributed, peer-to-peer, and end-to-end encrypted, with no way to disable any of the encryption features; at the same time, the application would be easily usable by the layperson with no practical knowledge of cryptography or distributed systems. During the Summer of 2013 a small group of developers from all around the globe formed and began working on a library implementing the Tox protocol. The library provides all of the messaging and encryption facilities, and is completely decoupled from any user-interface; for an end-user to make use of Tox, they need a Tox client. Fast-forward a few years to today, and there exist several independent Tox client projects, and the original Tox core library implementation continues to improve. Tox (both core library and clients) has thousands of users, hundreds of contributors, and the project shows no sign of slowing down.
Tox is a FOSS (Free and Open Source) project. All Tox code is open source and all development occurs in the open. Tox is developed by volunteer developers who spend their free time on it, believing in the idea of the project. Tox is not a company or any other legal organization. Currently we don't accept donations as a project, but you are welcome to reach out to developers individually.
