OSHI vs Berty — Peer-to-Peer Offline Messengers, Compared

OSHI is a free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted messenger for iOS and Android that uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi mesh networking to send messages without Internet or cellular service. OSHI is an alternative to Bridgefy, Briar, Meshtastic and bitchat for offline communication, and to Signal for private messaging.

Berty is a privacy-first messenger from Berty Technologies, a Paris non-profit, built on its own Wesh protocol on top of IPFS and libp2p. It shares OSHI's goals almost exactly: no phone number, no central server, and messaging that keeps working with no Internet using Bluetooth and local Wi-Fi. The two differ in architecture, in how far along they are, and in what they add on top of chat. Berty's own README and documentation are the sources for its column.

Feature comparison: OSHI vs Berty

Sources: github.com/berty/berty README (BLE and mDNS offline transports, Wesh protocol partially implemented, "should not yet be used to exchange sensitive data", Apache-2.0/MIT), berty.tech blog "Berty, Libp2p and Bluetooth Low Energy" (Multipeer Connectivity, Android Nearby, BLE proximity transport, relay nodes), OSHI App Store listing v1.0.39, oshi-messenger.com/features/mesh-networking and github.com/Lastoneparis/OSHI.

Where Berty genuinely wins

The whole app is open source. Berty's iOS and Android apps, its Go daemon and the Wesh protocol are published under Apache-2.0 or MIT, and the protocol is documented as a general-purpose library other apps can build on. OSHI publishes its cryptographic core, mesh layer and bot SDK under MIT, but not the app shell. If you need to build the complete client from source, Berty is the one that lets you.

A real protocol project. Wesh separates the messaging protocol from the app, uses OrbitDB over IPFS for group state, and aims to let other developers reuse it. That is more ambitious, and more reusable, than a single app.

Google Play. Berty installs from the Play Store; OSHI's Android build is a direct APK download from this site.

Non-profit governance. Berty Technologies is a registered non-profit with a stated plan to hand the project to its community. OSHI is built by one developer in Switzerland.

Where OSHI is different

Multi-hop relay is the point. Berty's proximity transport makes a direct connection to a nearby peer over Bluetooth Low Energy, Multipeer Connectivity or Android Nearby. We could not verify that Berty forwards a message across several phones to reach someone out of direct range. OSHI is built around that: up to five hops with store-and-forward, and relays that only ever see ciphertext.

Production status. Berty's README is admirably honest: the app "has not yet been hardened", the Wesh protocol is "partially implemented", and it "should not yet be used to exchange sensitive data". OSHI is shipping on the App Store (version 1.0.39 as of August 2026), has a bug-bounty programme, and fixed two issues reported by an independent researcher in its latest release. Neither app has a public third-party audit.

Beyond text. OSHI includes encrypted voice and video calls, photos, files, voice notes and live location, downloadable offline OpenStreetMap maps with routing, an on-device AI assistant, steganography and covert channels for censored networks, and a bot API. We could not verify calls or file sharing in Berty's public documentation, so the table says "not verified".

Encryption you can name. OSHI's one-to-one chats and calls use X3DH and the Double Ratchet with AES-256-GCM and Curve25519, the same construction as Signal, with the source on GitHub. Berty encrypts end to end with its Wesh protocol; the README does not name the primitives. On OSHI's side, be aware that group names and member lists are visible to the OSHI server when the Internet path is used, as its App Store listing states.

OSHI does not require a phone number, email address, or account.

Two ways to do "peer to peer"

Berty's model is IPFS: every device is a libp2p node, groups are shared logs, and when you are online you find peers through rendezvous points and relays. Offline, nearby peers connect directly. OSHI's model is a mesh: nearby phones form a relay network over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and when the Internet is available it adds Tor, a self-hosted content-addressed blob store and covert channels as extra delivery paths. Both avoid a phone number and a central identity server. Berty's is the more general design; OSHI's is the more practical one today for crowds and shutdowns.

Who each app suits

Choose Berty if you want a fully open-source client and protocol from a non-profit, are comfortable with an app its authors still call unfinished, and mostly need direct nearby or online peer-to-peer chat.

Choose OSHI if you need messages to hop across several phones, want calls, photos and files, offline maps and on-device AI today, and accept that only OSHI's core (not its app shell) is published.

Frequently asked questions