Salty IM

Salty IM is an open-source, end-to-end (E2E) encrypted messaging protocol designed for privacy-focused communication. Unlike centralized messaging apps, Salty is a specification that allows for self-hosted, decentralized interactions. It leverages the Saltpack encryption format and modern cryptography (Ed25519 keys) to ensure that messages remain private between the sender and the recipient without relying on a central authority or proprietary server infrastructure.

The development of Salty IM is driven by the open-source community, specifically associated with the IndieWeb and Twtxt movements. It was spearheaded by James Mills (prologic), an advocate for minimalist and decentralized web technologies. Because the project is an open specification rather than a physical product, its "manufacturing" occurs globally through contributions from developers and community members who implement the protocol in various messaging clients.

Ownership of Salty IM rests with the public domain and its community of contributors under open-source licenses. There is no corporate parent company or ultimate commercial owner, which is a core tenet of its mission to provide a messaging system that cannot be controlled or monetized by a single entity. The development is transparent and hosted on community platforms, ensuring it remains an accessible tool for secure internet communication.