Tor, the team behind the massively popular anonymous browsing software, is prepping to release a completely anonymous instant messaging system. News of the build arrives only days after Facebook announced its $19 billion purchase of popular messaging program WhatsApp.
News of the Tor build was revealed in documents produced at the Tor 2014 Winter Developers Meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Known as the Tor Instant Messaging Bundle (TIMB), the software is built on the open-source InstantBird messenger client. Currently the build is offered in experimental release with a public beta scheduled for March 31, 2014.
The end goal is to build the anonymous messaging platform and then include it with the Tor Launcher bundle.
Tor’s developers are so serious about the new anonymous instant messenger that they are hiring outside security experts to audit the systems security. According to the TOR team, “people in countries where communication for the purpose of activism is met with intimidation, violence, and prosecution will be able to avoid the scrutiny of criminal cartels, corrupt officials, and authoritarian governments.”
While TorChat and BitMessage already have large userbases, the ability to tie a system directly into the Tor Launcher could give the new system exactly what it needs in terms of user acquisition momentum.
The Tor Project is currently funded with $2 million in donations. Over the last ten years the program has transformed itself from a tech-savvy platform to a plug and play option for anyone with a computer. With the advent of hard to track messaging the TOR Project could soon find its way into millions of more homes. We have already seen the effect that privacy standards can have on a company, just take a look at Snapchat for the proof in the pudding.
Will you be taking advantage of the Tor Instant Messaging Bundle when it debuts?
[H/T DailyDot]
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