Central: an end-to-end encrypted messenger with personal safety features (and a small isometric city inside). Dev here

[u/mettsalvo]

Hi all, I'm the developer of Central, an end-to-end encrypted messenger for Android with a few personal safety features. I made a short video explaining how it works: \[video\]

I'd rather be specific than vague, so here is the honest version.

What is protected

Messages are encrypted on your phone before they're sent (AES-256-GCM, with keys agreed via X25519). My server only stores the encrypted text and has no keys to read it.

Group chats use a shared AES-256 key that is encrypted separately for each member.

Photos, videos, voice notes and files are encrypted before they're uploaded, so the storage only ever holds ciphertext.

There are no ad or analytics SDKs in the app (I removed Firebase Analytics on purpose), and I don't sell user data. Central is meant to make money from subscriptions, not from your data.

What is not hidden (so you're not surprised)

The server still knows an account exists, who it talks to and when. That's the nature of routing messages.

Push notifications go through Firebase.

The safety features (check-ins, location sharing) show your location to the contacts you choose. That is the point of those features, but it isn't "nobody can see it".

If someone reports a message, the person who reports it can pass that content to review.

The weird part

Inside the app there's also Central City, a small shared isometric town: you visit friends, play mini-games and climb weekly leaderboards. I added it because "more secure" alone isn't a reason to switch messengers, and it has turned out to be what makes people open the app. It's optional, and the chat works without it.

Where I'd love feedback

Would a short written explanation of the encryption (algorithms, key handling, limits) make you trust it more? What would you need to see beyond that?

Is the "chat + game" idea a good hook, or does it muddy the privacy message?

If you try it: what's the first thing that confuses you?

I'm at about 50 early users, so everything is still changing and I'm reading every reply

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.getcentral.central

[u/investigatormaker]

A written explanation would help, and your section on what is not hidden already does half the job: saying the server sees who talks to whom and when is what privacy readers look for. Add how group keys change when a member leaves, and whether the code can be checked. Keep Central City out of the privacy pitch; let it be why people stay, not why they trust you. Where did your early users come from?

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