Stronghold
Messaging and calls on your own devices
Messages, files and photos, voice and video calls. Your history stays on your device and opens only with your password.
Calls
Call your contact without leaving the chat.
Voice calls
The Opus codec is built for narrow, unstable links. Echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain control whenever the device provides them. Speakerphone and mute in a single tap.
Video
Turn the camera on mid-call. Switch between front and rear cameras, with picture-in-picture and swappable windows. Quality adapts to the connection, and if it really can't keep up, video turns itself off so the call doesn't drop.
Hard to drop, never lost
The call keeps going when the app is minimized or the screen turns off. If the connection dips, the app tries to reconnect on its own. A record of the call stays in the chat.
Good to know up front. Voice and video calls work both in the Android app and in the Windows version: since 1.2.1 the computer sends its own camera in a call too.
Calls are one-on-one; there are no group calls. Latency depends on the connection route and is noticeable — the app shows it right on the call screen. Video is sent at a low resolution: enough to see the other person, but no substitute for video calls over the regular internet.
What else it does
Everything you expect from a messenger — on your computer and your phone.
Messages
Chats with replies, read receipts and search across the entire chat history.
Files and photos
Drag-and-drop attachments, image previews, video playback and a gallery with album search.
Voice messages
Hold the mic button to record, then play them right in the chat with a waveform. Mobile only for now.
On your device
History, contacts and settings live in a local database under your password. You can bind the database to the device — then a copy of it won't open anywhere else, even with the right password.
Computer and phone
Windows and Android versions share one contact format. Some features land on the phone first.
Stable connection
The app reconnects on its own when you switch networks or lose signal — your chats aren't lost.
Getting started
Three steps and you're ready to chat.
Create a profile
Set up a profile right in the app in a couple of minutes, protected by a password.
Add a contact
Exchange contact cards — as an on-screen QR code or a file. Both of you add each other.
Start talking
Messages, files and calls go directly between your devices, with nothing stored in between.