Every day, billions of messages flow through servers owned by tech companies. They promise your conversations are private, but what does that really mean?
The truth about "private" messaging today:
Most messaging apps encrypt your messages in transit—but the company still sees who you talk to, when you talk, how often, and where you are when you do it. This metadata reveals more about you than the content of your messages ever could.
Many apps store your messages on their servers "for your convenience." If those servers get hacked, your entire conversation history is exposed. If the company gets a legal demand, they hand over everything they have.
Some apps claim to be "end-to-end encrypted"—but they still require phone numbers, collect contact lists, and track your usage patterns. Your messages might be encrypted, but you're not anonymous.
The fundamental problem: When your messages pass through someone else's servers, you're trusting them to protect your privacy. History shows this trust is often misplaced.
Zbelthas Chat takes a different approach: No servers. No metadata collection. No trust required.
Zbelthas Chat is a peer-to-peer messaging system where your conversations happen directly between you and the people you're talking to—no servers in between.
Text Messaging — Send encrypted messages that only the recipient can read. Every message uses a new encryption key, so even if one key is compromised, past and future messages remain secure.
Voice Messages — Record and send voice messages up to 5 minutes long, encrypted with the same military-grade cryptography that protects your text messages.
Video Calls — Make encrypted video calls directly to other Zbelthas users. No servers relay your video—it goes straight from you to them, encrypted end-to-end.
File Sharing — Send files up to 5GB, automatically split into encrypted chunks and transmitted peer-to-peer. Photos, documents, videos—all protected.
Disappearing Messages — Set messages to automatically delete after a specified time, from 5 seconds to 7 days. When they're gone, they're really gone—securely erased from all devices.
Group Conversations — Create encrypted group chats with up to 256 participants. Every member's messages are protected by the same cryptography that secures one-on-one conversations.
Traditional messaging apps work like this:
You → Company's Server → Your Friend
The company sees everything: who you talk to, when, how often, message sizes, your location, your contacts.
Zbelthas works like this:
xxxxxxxxxxYou ←→ Your Friend
Your messages go directly from your device to theirs. No servers. No intermediaries. No one watching.
MLS Protocol (Messaging Layer Security) — A cryptographic protocol standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) specifically for secure group messaging. It ensures that every participant in a conversation can verify that messages haven't been tampered with and that only intended recipients can read them.
Post-Quantum Encryption — Your messages are protected by ML-KEM-768, a post-quantum key exchange algorithm standardized by NIST. Even if quantum computers become powerful enough to break today's encryption, your conversations remain secure.
Perfect Forward Secrecy — Every message uses a new encryption key. If an attacker somehow compromises one key, they can't decrypt past messages or future messages—only that single message.
CRDT Synchronization — Your messages sync across all your devices without a central server. Conflict-free Replicated Data Types ensure that messages appear in the correct order on all devices, even if you're offline when they arrive.
Send a message. It's encrypted on your device, transmitted directly to the recipient's device, and decrypted there. Simple.
When you send a message, Zbelthas:
Generates a new encryption key for this message
Encrypts the message content with that key
Encrypts the key itself with the recipient's public key
Transmits both the encrypted message and encrypted key directly to the recipient
The recipient's device decrypts the key, then uses it to decrypt the message
Both devices securely erase the key from memory
This happens in milliseconds. You just see your message appear in the conversation.
Reactions — React to messages with emoji. Reactions are encrypted just like messages.
Replies — Reply to specific messages in a conversation. The reply is linked to the original message, making it easy to follow complex discussions.
Read Receipts — Optionally let others know when you've read their messages. This is opt-in—you control whether to send read receipts.
Typing Indicators — Optionally show when you're typing. Like read receipts, this is opt-in and encrypted.
Press and hold to record a voice message up to 5 minutes long. Release to send. Your voice is encoded using the OPUS codec—the same technology used by professional audio applications—and encrypted before transmission.
Your voice message is encrypted on your device before it's sent. The recipient receives an encrypted file that only their device can decrypt.
Voice messages are stored temporarily on a decentralized network (IPFS) to allow delivery even if the recipient is offline. The files are encrypted—the network can't listen to them. When the message expires or is deleted, it's removed from the network and securely erased from all devices.
When you start a video call, Zbelthas establishes a direct encrypted connection between you and the other person. Your video and audio never pass through our servers or anyone else's.
Peer-to-Peer Connection — Your device connects directly to the other person's device using libp2p, a battle-tested peer-to-peer networking library. No STUN servers. No TURN relays. No third parties.
Encrypted Media — Your video and audio are encrypted using SRTP (Secure Real-time Transport Protocol) with AES-256-GCM. The encryption keys are derived from a post-quantum key exchange, protecting against future quantum computers.
Quality — Video calls use the VP9 codec for video and OPUS for audio—the same technologies used by professional video conferencing systems.
Because your calls are peer-to-peer and encrypted, we can't see:
Who you're calling
When you call
How long you talk
What you say
What you show on video
We literally don't have the technical capability to intercept your calls, even if we wanted to.
Share photos, documents, videos—any file up to 5GB. Files are automatically split into 1MB chunks, each encrypted separately, and transmitted peer-to-peer.
When you send a file:
Zbelthas splits it into 1MB chunks
Each chunk is encrypted with a unique key
Chunks are transmitted directly to the recipient
The recipient's device decrypts and reassembles the chunks
All encryption keys are securely erased from memory
If the transmission is interrupted, Zbelthas automatically resumes from where it left off—no need to start over.
Files are encrypted before they leave your device. Even if someone intercepts the transmission, they get encrypted chunks that are useless without the keys—which only you and the recipient have.
Set messages to automatically delete after a specified time. Choose from:
5 seconds — For extremely sensitive information
1 minute — Quick exchanges
1 hour — Temporary conversations
24 hours — Default for privacy-conscious users
7 days — Maximum retention
When a message expires:
The message content is overwritten multiple times with random data
The encryption keys are securely erased from memory
The message is removed from the conversation history
All devices in the conversation delete the message simultaneously
This isn't just hiding the message—it's cryptographically erasing it so that it can't be recovered, even with forensic tools.
For maximum privacy, use "View Once" mode. The message is deleted immediately after the recipient reads it—no timer, no delay, just instant deletion.
Create group chats with up to 256 participants. Every message is encrypted so that only group members can read it.
Group encryption is more complex than one-on-one messaging because every participant needs to be able to decrypt messages, but no one outside the group should be able to.
Zbelthas uses the MLS protocol to manage group encryption keys. When someone sends a message:
The message is encrypted with the current group key
Every group member's device has a copy of this key
When someone joins or leaves, the group key is rotated
Old keys are securely erased, so departed members can't read new messages
Add Members — Invite people to join the group. They receive a secure welcome message that gives them the current group key.
Remove Members — When someone leaves or is removed, the group key is rotated. They can no longer decrypt new messages.
Admin Controls — Group creators can designate other admins, control who can add members, and manage group settings.
Your messages don't pass through our servers or anyone else's. They go directly from you to the recipient. This means:
We can't read your messages
We can't hand over your messages to authorities
We can't lose your messages in a data breach
We can't be compelled to spy on you
Most messaging apps claim they can't read your messages—but they can see who you talk to, when, and how often. This metadata is often more revealing than the content.
Zbelthas doesn't collect metadata because we don't have servers that could collect it. We don't know:
Who you message
When you message them
How often you communicate
Where you are when you send messages
Who's in your contact list
Most encrypted messaging apps use encryption that will be broken when quantum computers become powerful enough. Zbelthas uses post-quantum cryptography standardized by NIST, protecting your conversations against future threats.
If an encryption key is somehow compromised, it can only decrypt a single message—not your entire conversation history. Every message uses a new key, so past and future messages remain secure.
Because Zbelthas Chat is peer-to-peer and serverless, we literally don't have the technical capability to collect information about you.
We don't know:
Who you talk to
When you talk to them
How often you communicate
What you say
Where you are when you send messages
Your contact list
Your conversation history
Your group memberships
We can't:
Read your messages
Listen to your calls
Access your files
See your metadata
Hand over your data to authorities (we don't have it)
Lose your data in a breach (we don't store it)
This isn't a policy choice—it's an architectural reality. We built the system so that we don't have access to your data, even if we wanted it.
This document explains the chat and messaging features of Zbelthas. For more details on specific aspects:
System Architecture — How the messaging worker fits into the overall security architecture
Cryptographic Foundations — The mathematics protecting your messages
Security Features — The eight layers of defense protecting you
Platform Features — How Chat integrates with Wallet and Browser
Legal & Compliance — Why serverless architecture provides regulatory clarity
Zbelthas is built by a small team committed to real security and privacy. If you believe in what we're building, you can support our development.
Traditional Methods: Visit zbelthas.com/donate for Patreon and other payment options.
Web3 / Cryptocurrency: For on-chain donations, visit our Web3 portal at rpc.zbelthas.com where you can view and interact with our donation smart contract.
Donations do not grant any rights, tokens, equity, or promises of future benefits.
Title: Zbelthas - Chat and Messaging Version: 2.0 Date: March 2026 Status: Public Whitepaper Copyright: © 2026 Zbelthas Project. All rights reserved. Trademark: Zbelthas™ is a registered trademark.