RelaySMS

RelaySMS (formerly SMSWithoutBorders(SWOB) app) is an open source offline messaging app that sends encrypted SMS to your online platforms.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

The worst thing about most privacy apps:

To use them privately, you first have to hand over your identity.

We're removing that step entirely.

No accounts. Coming soon!

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

What does "privacy-first" actually mean?

Not: we encrypt your messages.
Not: we don't sell your data.

It means: we don't know who you are in the first place.

That's the standard we're building to.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

We've been listening to feedback for months.

"Too many steps." "What's a token?" "Why do I need an account?"

You were right. We heard you. Watch this space.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

We've been quiet for a reason.

Something big is changing with RelaySMS.

Not the mission. Not the values. Something better.

More soon. 👀

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Quick question for RelaySMS users:

What's the one thing about the current app that you wish was simpler?

Asking for a reason. 👇

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

If your communication tool requires the government's permission to keep running, it's not a freedom tool.

Change my mind, I'll wait😎

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Heads up: X (Twitter) publications via RelaySMS are temporarily paused due to changes in X's API pricing model.

We're working on it and will resume shortly.

Gmail, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky are all working as usual. 💙

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Most people hear "SMS" and think 2005.

Here's what SMS can do in 2026:
→ Send emails
→ Message on Telegram
→ Reach Mastodon + Bluesky

All encrypted. All without internet. All open source.

What platform would you want to reach first?

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

@DrNeilStone You are not.
Keep going. It matters.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Bluesky built a decentralized protocol so no single government could control it.
Russia just blocked it at the network layer anyway.
Decentralization isn't enough if the connection itself is cut. That's why RelaySMS exists, Bluesky over SMS, no internet required.
@bluesky

[OONI @OpenObservatory]

‼️ Russia blocked Bluesky
https://t.co/uTKPL5CBNN

As of 11th April 2026, OONI data shows that access to @bluesky is blocked on multiple networks in #Russia.

On some networks, the block is implemented by means of DNS tampering and automatically confirmed. On most networks, the block is implemented by means of TLS interference.

This follows the blocking of Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and many other platforms.

#ooni #censorship #opendata

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

@netblocks 56 days. Warfare. Executions. And the internet still cut.
For anyone with contacts inside Iran
RelaySMS lets people send messages to Gmail and Telegram via encrypted SMS without any internet connection.

Not a solution to what's happening. But a way to stay heard.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

download here https://t.co/shlZed2C3b

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Every week, messages get through that weren't supposed to.

Shutdowns fail. Blackouts break. Voices keep going.

5,580 users. 145 countries. Still counting.

Who's joining this week?

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

RelaySMS supports Gmail, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

All via SMS. All encrypted.

Which platform would you use first during a shutdown, and why?

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Telegram blocked in Russia, but SMS still works.

RelaySMS users in Russia can still message on Telegram via encrypted SMS. No internet required.

Question for the digital rights community: at what point does SMS resilience become part of the standard shutdown response toolkit?

[OONI @OpenObservatory]

‼️ #Russia has blocked Telegram, one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the country
https://t.co/emYxMgIcun

OONI data suggests that many ISPs in Russia began blocking access to Telegram on 20 March 2026.

This follows blocks of other major services, including WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, and numerous independent news outlets.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

The endgame of every internet shutdown isn't darkness - it's a filtered internet that works for the regime and no one else.
Iran is just further along the road.

[Doug Madory (also on Bluesky) @DougMadory]

While 90 million Iranians stay cut off, traffic is slowly creeping back — but only for officials, loyalists, and businesses granted "white SIM" access.

@kentikinc data shows the whitelisted internet quietly growing. A look inside Iran's drift toward digital apartheid:
#DigitalBlackOutIran‌
https://t.co/arBS6JvVDG

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

https://t.co/shlZed2C3b

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

The most dangerous moment for a journalist isn't the protest.
It's the 48 hours after when the internet is cut, and no one can hear them.
That's the gap RelaySMS fills. What tools are you using in high-risk coverage?

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

@accessnow The isolation point is key. It's not just that people lose information, they lose the ability to signal that they need help. Outbound communication collapses at exactly the moment it matters most.

[RelaySMS @RelaySMS]

Governments have shut down the internet so many times in the last 5 years.

Each time, RelaySMS users kept posting. Kept filing. Kept organizing.

Via SMS.

What would you do first if your internet went dark right now?