proto instant messenger
Free video calls for anyone. No Apple ID required.
Works with Blacksky, Bluesky, or any atproto account. No new sign-up needed.
What it is
AIM-inspired video chat, rebuilt for the open social web. Like FaceTime, Google Meet, and Zoom, but open, free, and we never track or sell your data.
Video calls
Free, WebRTC-powered. iPhone to Android, laptop to tablet. Pure P2P for your inner circle, relayed for everyone else to keep your IP private. All self-hosted, nothing leaked to third parties.
Buddy list
See who's online, set your status, one-click video call anyone. Organize contacts into trust tiers: Everyone, Community, and Inner Circle, each with its own privacy level.
Instant messages
Peer-to-peer via WebRTC data channels when both people are online. Device-to-device, nothing on the server. Trust-aware routing: pure P2P for inner circle, relay for everyone else.
Auto-translation
Public chat rooms and your feed auto-translated across 16 languages, fully self-hosted. IMs and video are P2P, so they never touch our servers and can't be translated. By design.
Part of something bigger
proto IM is one piece of the ATProto messaging stack. We don't do everything, on purpose. Germ handles persistent, end-to-end encrypted DMs with MLS. Roomy handles open-source group chat and community spaces, like Discord but decentralized. We handle video calls and the buddy list. Three independent projects, one open network.
How it works
- Sign in with your AT Protocol handle. Bluesky, Blacksky, North Sky, or your own PDS. No new account, no phone number.
- Build your buddy list and organize people into trust tiers. See who's online, set your status.
- Call anyone with one click. Free, encrypted, cross-platform. Send IMs when you can't hop on video. For offline DMs, we link out to Germ.
Trust model
We're upfront about how your data flows.
- Video and voice are encrypted: all calls use DTLS-SRTP. Even when relayed, the TURN server forwards encrypted packets without decrypting them.
- Trust-aware routing: your inner circle gets pure P2P connections (STUN). Everyone else goes through our TURN relay to keep your IP hidden. No third-party STUN servers. All self-hosted.
- IMs are peer-to-peer: instant messages travel device-to-device via WebRTC data channels. Nothing stored on the server.
- DMs via Germ: for persistent private messages, proto IM links out to Germ, a separate service with MLS end-to-end encryption. We don't operate Germ and never see your DMs.
- Buddy list tiers: Everyone, Community, Inner Circle. Each tier controls presence visibility and whether connections are P2P or relayed.
- Public data: your buddy list and public messages are ATProto records in your repo, visible on the network. You own them.
- No analytics, no cookies, no tracking: this site and the app collect zero behavioral data.
Built for community
A safe space, especially for those who need it most.
proto IM exists to be a safe space for all people. We will aggressively ban and moderate any form of hate speech, threatening, and stalking. That's not a footnote. It's the foundation.
Block/report, room bans, account age gates, slow mode, allowlists. ATProto labeler integration respects your existing moderation preferences. Trust tiers control presence visibility and P2P routing. Relay-by-default protects IP addresses for anyone outside your inner circle. Your buddy list is the discovery mechanism, not the algorithm. Available in 16 languages with self-hosted translation, more coming.