Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 20, 2026

Silence (software)

Silence was a free, open-source messaging encryption software, based on a fork from TextSecure software. It allowed the secure exchange of SMS and MMS-type messages with other Silence or TextSecure users. The program allowed message encryption and identity verification between correspondents by comparing the fingerprint of the encryption keys.

Last revised
Jun 20, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
239 w
Citations
10
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Silence
DevelopersBastien Le Querrec, Carey Metcalfe
ReleaseMarch 2015
Written inJava
Operating systemAndroid
TypeSMS/MMS-encryption
LicenseGNU General Public License version 3
Websitehttps://silence.im/
Repositoryhttps://git.silence.dev/Silence/Silence-Android/

Silence was a free, open-source messaging encryption software, based on a fork from TextSecure software. It allowed the secure exchange of SMS and MMS-type messages with other Silence or TextSecure users. The program allowed message encryption and identity verification between correspondents by comparing the fingerprint of the encryption keys.12

History

TextSecure started as an application for sending and receiving encrypted SMS messages in 2015.3 However, its beta version was released in May 2010, by Whisper Systems, a startup co-founded by security researcher Moxie Marlinspike and roboticist Stuart Anderson.4

The software was therefore published under a free and open-source license, under the terms of the GPLv3 in December 2011.45 Marlinspike left Twitter to create Open Whisper Systems as a collaborative open-source project, enabling the development of TextSecure.67

The Open Whisper Systems institutional website was presented to the public in January 2013. The port of TextSecure to iOS started in March 2013.78

References

References

  1. "Release v0.15.16 · SilenceIM/Silence". GitHub. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  2. online, heise (2015-04-02). "TextSecure-Fork bringt SMS-Verschlüsselung zurück". Security (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  3. "Saying goodbye to encrypted SMS/MMS". Signal Messenger. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  4. Garling, Caleb. "Twitter Open Sources Its Android Moxie". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  5. "The Whispers Are True". blog.twitter.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  6. Greenberg, Andy. "Your iPhone Can Finally Make Free, Encrypted Calls". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  7. "A New Home". Signal Messenger. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  8. "Sure!". Signal Messenger. Retrieved 2024-03-25.