KryptEY vs PilferShush Jammer
Side-by-side comparison of two open source alternatives
KryptEY
Communicate securely and independent, regardless of the legal situation or whether messengers use E2EE. No server needed. #ChatKontrolleStoppen Why KryptEY? Breaking of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by laws such as the planned EU chat control is an ongoing issue. Content in messengers that use E2EE, such as Whatsapp or Signal, could thus be monitored by third parties. E2EE is often, but not always, standard in messengers. There are proven methods for E2EE such as PGP. However, these methods are sometimes cumbersomely integrated and require a lot of effort to use. KryptEY is an Android keyboard that implements the Signal protocol. The keyboard works messenger-independently and both the X3DH Key Agreement Protocol and the Double Ratchet Algorithm work without a server, thus it enables a highly independent use of the protocol. Features Based upon Simple Keyboard ( https://github.com/rkkr/simple-keyboard ), KryptEY adds a view above the Keyboard for the E2EE functionality. * use E2EE through Signal Protocol in any messenger * encryption/decryption of messages * enter message through separate text field in keyboard * use clipboard to read messages * manage contacts in own contact list in keyboard * message log to view sent/received messages * send messages as plain JSON (raw mode) or hidden in a decoy text (fairytale mode) * verification of E2EE functionality via fingerprint * Q&A View for questions * dark & light theme See https://github.com/amnesica/KryptEY/blob/master/KRYPTEY.md for further information on how KryptEY is working. Security The existing security properties for the Signal Protocol are also valid for the keyboard. Limitations The keyboard was designed as a POC and only allows 1-to-1 conversations. However, the application can also be used in a group chat to a limited extent. Here, a message can be directed to a specific chat partner and not to all people. Other participants of the group chat cannot decrypt the message. Text messages in Telegram are getting copied as HTML and not as plain text. When decoding the message with the fairytale mode the copied message is compromised and can't be read properly. Therefore, it can't be decoded at all. However, the raw mode works properly. When using KryptEY with Telegram we recommend the raw mode. Some messengers like Threema only allows up to 3500 bytes per message. Therefore, different character input limitations apply. To stay under the 3500 bytes limit, only 500 characters are allowed for raw and fairytale mode. For convenience these limitation applies for all messengers. Demo For a demonstration on how KryptEY is used see https://github.com/amnesica/KryptEY/tree/master#demo KryptEY was created by mellitopia and amnesica. The code is open source and can be found at https://github.com/amnesica/KryptEY
PilferShush Jammer
Features a passive jammer technique that engages the microphone thereby blocking other apps from using it. But does NOT listen to or record any of the audio from the microphone. It uses 0% CPU and no noticeable battery use. However is not intended to be left on permanently due to the variety of triggers that can cause audio_focus_state changes (VOIP etc). Also features an active jammer that emits tones constrained to the NUHF range of 18 kHz to 24 kHz range. User determined carrier frequency and drift limits with rate for random tone emissions depending on the device capabilities. For instance 20000 Hz carrier, drift limit 1000 Hz and rate slow - will output random frequency between 19 kHz and 21 kHz approximately every second. Audible artifacts are present during the NUHF tones but this may be changed in a future release. Experimental white noise output may not be very effective at blocking and is a somewhat annoying sound. The device speaker output may not have enough amplitude to block unwanted NUHF signals - testing will determine. * Manual start * Notification post when running * Auto stop and restart when telephony interrupts * Currently relies on audio_focus_state changes for auto-switching * Active jammer
| Feature | KryptEY | PilferShush Jammer |
|---|---|---|
| License | GPL-3.0-only | Apache-2.0 |
| Install sources | F-DroidGitHubIzzyOnDroid | F-Droid |
| Categories | Password ManagerProductivityKeyboard | Password ManagerProductivity |
| Features | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking |
| Platforms | Android | Android |
| Website | ||
| Source code |