Statim vs Signal

Signal encrypts every chat and call by default, and answers subpoenas with little more than the date an account was created. It needs a phone number to register and runs as one service. Statim needs nothing to sign up and puts several protocols in one chat list, though it cannot message a Signal user directly.

At a glance

Feature	Statim	Signal
Sign up with	Nothing	Phone number
Encrypted by default	On XMTP, Nostr and Status	Yes
Open source	Yes, MIT	Yes, AGPL 3.0
Your own server	Nostr, Status, Matrix	No
Wallet	Yes, off by default	MobileCoin
Calls	No	Yes, group

Phone number or twelve words

Signal registers you with a phone number. The number is hidden by default, and an optional username lets people reach you without it, but the account still exists through that number. Your phone is the main device, with up to five linked ones.

Statim registers nothing. The app makes twelve words on your device, and people reach you by an Ethereum address or ENS name on XMTP, an npub… key on Nostr, or a zQ3sh… chat key on Status. The same words run the account on a phone and a computer, with neither one in charge.

Encryption and metadata

Signal encrypts everything by default and has added a post-quantum key exchange. Sealed sender hides who sent a message from Signal's own servers, and the server keeps no record of who is in a group. Its published subpoena answers contain only when an account registered and when it last connected.

Statim's encryption is the protocol's. XMTP uses MLS, Nostr seals DMs so relays never learn the sender, Status uses its own scheme, and Matrix uses Olm and Megolm in chats with encryption on. Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted, in Statim or in Telegram's own app. Every chat says which applies.

One service or several

Signal Messenger LLC, part of the nonprofit Signal Technology Foundation, runs every server. The server code is published, but the official apps connect only to Signal's own.

Statim's developer runs no server. Each protocol has its own nodes, relays or homeservers, and for Nostr, Status and Matrix you can use ones you run.

Reaching Signal users from Statim

Statim has no Signal code, and Signal offers no way for another app to join its network. What works is a Matrix bridge: mautrix-signal links to your Signal account as a device, the way Signal Desktop does, and turns your Signal chats into Matrix chats Statim shows. Statim's desktop app can run that bridge on your computer.

The bridge decrypts your Signal messages on the machine where it runs, so Signal's end-to-end encryption stops there. Put it somewhere you trust as much as your phone, or keep Signal for the chats where that matters.

Pick Statim if

You do not want to give anyone a phone number.
You want Telegram, Matrix, XMTP, Nostr and Status chats in one list.
You want a self-custody wallet for Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana in the chat.
You want a command line, or an AI assistant, to read and send for you.

Pick Signal if

You need voice and video calls, including group calls.
The people you talk to are on Signal.
You want the tightest limits on metadata, from a service with a long public record.
You want an app that is out of beta on every platform. Statim's phone apps are still in beta.

The details

Detail	Statim	Signal
To sign up	Nothing. The app makes twelve words on your device, and they are your account. No phone number, no email.	A phone number. An optional username lets people reach you without it, but you cannot register without one.
End-to-end encryption	Always on XMTP, Nostr and Status. On Matrix, in chats with encryption on. Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted, same as in Telegram's own app.	Every chat and call, with the Signal Protocol and a post-quantum key exchange.
Who runs the servers	Each protocol's own nodes, relays and homeservers. The developer runs none of them. You can point the app at your own Nostr relays, Status node or Matrix homeserver.	Signal runs every server, and the official apps connect only to Signal's.
Open source	The whole app, MIT licence.	The apps, the server and libsignal, under AGPL 3.0.
Other networks	XMTP, Nostr, Status, Telegram and Matrix in one chat list. WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, Discord and others through a Matrix bridge you run.	None.
Wallet	Ethereum and its chains, Bitcoin and Solana, from the same twelve words. A plugin, off until you turn it on. Ledger, Trezor and Keystone work too.	MobileCoin payments, not offered in every country.
Voice and video calls	None.	1:1 voice and video, and group calls of up to 75 people.
Platforms	macOS, Windows and Linux. iPhone in beta on TestFlight, Android in open testing on Google Play.	iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux. The computer app links to your phone.

Sources

Signal’s side was checked against these pages on October 28, 2026. Write to [email protected] if something has changed.