TalX is a messenger for Android 8 and newer. It works without a central server, without an
account and without a phone number. This page lists everything; the sub-pages go into
detail.
| Feature |
State |
| Connect a contact by QR code |
yes – scanning in one direction is enough, the contact appears on both devices |
| Connect a contact by NFC |
yes – hold the phones together |
| Connect by encrypted one-time link |
receiving only – since 0.84.2 creating one is no longer offered; a link sent earlier still works |
| Connect by code, remotely |
yes – J-PAKE, safe against eavesdropping |
| Account / registration |
does not exist – the key pair is the identity |
| Phone number |
never collected |
| Display name and profile picture |
freely chosen, changeable at any time, cropping editor included |
| Status message |
text up to 140 characters and/or an image, distributed to contacts encrypted |
| Filter against far-right names |
active – also on receipt of other people’s profiles, so nobody can bypass it with a modified app |
| Link a second device of your own |
yes – by J-PAKE code, identity and state transferred encrypted |
Details on connecting →
| Feature |
State |
| Text messages |
yes |
| Photos, videos, arbitrary files |
up to 100 MB one-to-one, 50 MB in groups and towards older apps |
| In-app camera |
yes – zoom, exposure compensation, lens choice, rotates with the device |
| Voice messages |
yes – recorded speech-optimised, played back in the bubble |
| Video messages |
yes |
| “View once” media |
yes – your own sent copy disappears too |
| Delete messages for everyone |
yes |
| Edit messages |
text, up to 5 minutes, marked “edited” |
| Disappearing messages with a timer |
no |
| Transport path visible per message |
yes – Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, internet, relay or Sidelink |
| Full-screen media and saving to the gallery |
yes |
| Opening files with other apps |
yes |
Details on messages and media →
| Feature |
State |
| Groups without a server |
yes – sender keys distributed over the encrypted channel |
| Roles: creator, moderator, member |
yes, enforced on receipt |
| Rename, group picture, manage members |
yes |
| Transfer ownership |
yes |
| Leave a group, or delete it for everyone |
yes |
| Forward secrecy in groups |
yes – rotation by count, by time, and on every membership change |
| Very large groups |
no – every message is encrypted separately per member |
Details on groups →
| Feature |
State |
| One-to-one voice calls |
yes – Opus, echo cancellation, jitter buffer |
| One-to-one video calls |
yes – portrait at 30 fps, hardware accelerated; Full HD only when both devices are strong enough, otherwise 720p |
| Calls with no server at all on the same Wi-Fi |
yes – voice and video |
| Switch camera, camera off, picture-in-picture preview |
yes |
| Call log in the chat |
yes |
| Group calls |
no |
Details on calls →
| Feature |
State |
| Interface languages |
91, complete – including notifications and system notices |
| Right-to-left languages |
yes – Arabic, Urdu, Persian |
| Transcription of voice messages |
6 languages, on the device, configurable per chat |
| Translation of messages and transcripts |
20 languages, on the device |
| Cloud call carrying content |
never happens – only the language models come from the network |
Details on language →
| Feature |
State |
| Compare the safety number |
yes |
| Warning on key change |
yes |
| App lock by biometrics or device code |
yes |
| Screenshot and recents protection |
yes, on by default |
| Reset the encrypted session |
yes |
| Block a contact |
yes – nothing is accepted and nothing is sent any more; survives a re-pairing |
| Delete a contact with the whole history |
yes |
| Local database encrypted |
yes – SQLCipher, key in the Android keystore |
| Attachments encrypted at rest |
yes – AES-256-GCM |
| Independent external audit |
outstanding |
Details on the security model →
| Feature |
State |
| Encrypted cloud backup |
yes – private app folder of your own Google account |
| Key derivation |
Argon2id, 64 MB memory, 4 passes |
| Second factor to restore |
mandatory – TOTP or biometrics |
| Automatic backup |
off, daily, weekly, monthly |
| Backup contents selectable |
yes – photos/videos and voice/video messages individually |
| Restore fully demonstrated |
partly – the backup and read paths are tested, a complete run is still outstanding |
Details on backup →
| Feature |
State |
| Offline delivery over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct |
yes |
| Direct connection on the local network |
yes – mDNS and TCP |
| Direct internet connection between devices |
yes – WebRTC |
| Store-and-forward when nobody is reachable |
yes – the relay buffers for up to 7 days |
| Push wake-up for closed apps |
yes, without content |
| Receiving while the app is closed |
yes – foreground service, can be switched off |
| 5G Sidelink / ProSe |
prepared, not active – Android gives apps no access to it |
Details on delivery →
No status stories, no channels, no communities, no sticker ecosystem, no bots, no
advertising, no analytics. If you need those, you will not find them here. If you do not
miss them, you get a quiet app.
