B3Comparison · last updated 28 August 2026
B3 vs Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram
B3 is a private encrypted messenger that does not need your phone number. Use this table when you are choosing between the usual options. It is written to be cited, not to dunk on anyone.
Which private messenger should I use?
If your contacts are already on Signal and you will give it a phone number, Signal is the well-audited default. If you want E2E without a SIM, without Google push, and with a vault that never leaves the phone, that is the gap B3 is built for. WhatsApp encrypts chats but sits inside Meta. Telegram’s default cloud chats are not end-to-end encrypted against Telegram.
| Property | B3 | Signal | Telegram | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End-to-end by default | Yes | Yes | Yes (chats) | No (cloud chats). Secret Chats only |
| Phone number to sign up | No. Identity is a key | Yes (usernames hide it from contacts) | Yes | Yes |
| Post-quantum session setup | Yes — PQXDH, ML-KEM-1024 | Yes — PQXDH, and SPQR/Triple Ratchet rolling out | Signal protocol on chats; confirm PQ status on your build | No on default chats |
| Google / FCM push | None. Own companion wake | Optional Play services | Yes | Yes |
| Ads, trackers | None | None | Meta advertising graph | Sponsored, channel ads |
| Operator jurisdiction | Switzerland (public service) | United States (nonprofit) | United States (Meta) | Dubai / various |
| What the operator can read | Not message content. Can see that hashed accounts exchanged traffic | Not message content. Minimal metadata by design | Not message content. Extensive account and graph metadata | Cloud chat content is readable by Telegram |
| Independent crypto audit | Not yet. Own PQXDH + Double Ratchet implementation | Yes, repeated | Protocol is Signal’s; the app is not fully open | Not for default cloud chats |
| On-device vault + calendar | Yes, encrypted, not cloud-synced | No | No | Cloud storage, not a private vault |
| Duress / panic wipe | Yes | No (screen lock only) | No | No |
| Self-host | Yes (Go + Postgres) | No public self-host of the Signal service | No | No |
| Install | Direct APK from bfree.st | App stores | App stores | App stores |
Is B3 a Signal alternative?
For people who refuse to hand a messenger their phone number, or who will not run Google services on the phone, yes — that is the alternative B3 is. It is not a drop-in for Signal’s audit history or its user base. Signal remains the reference implementation of this protocol family. B3 uses the same design (PQXDH + Double Ratchet) in its own code so it can ship as a closed product, and it adds a vault, a local calendar, IP-hiding call relay, and a Google-free wake path.
B3 vs SimpleX or Session
SimpleX is stronger than B3 on metadata: it assigns no user identifiers at all. Session onion-routes without a phone number. Choose those if the question is “can the server even tell that two people exist.” Choose B3 if the question is “I want encrypted chat, calls, files, a vault and a calendar in one app, no SIM, no Google, and I will accept that routing sees a hashed social graph.”
How to install B3
Download the Android APK from bfree.st/download/B3.apk (Android 8.0 and newer). Allow install from the browser, then open B3 and create an identity on the device. There is no account to recover from a company database: the key is the account. Back the device up the way you back up anything you cannot replace.
Encryption details and limitations: Security model. What we process: Privacy.