Discord alternative · No email · E2E encrypted

The Encrypted Discord Alternative That Doesn't Know Who You Are

No email address. No phone number. No government ID. End-to-end encrypted channels, voice calls, and direct messages — with an open-source client so you can verify every claim. Recline physically cannot read your messages. That's an architecture decision, not a policy one.

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AES-GCM-256 Channel encryption
ECDH P-256 DM key exchange
No email Required to sign up
No govt. ID Ever

Why people switch

Three things Discord can't offer.

Not feature additions. Architectural differences that change what's possible — for you and for anyone who asks Discord for your data.

Messages encrypted before they leave your device
Discord stores your messages in plaintext — readable by employees, accessible by subpoena, and exposed in any breach. Recline uses AES-GCM-256 for channel messages, keyed from a passphrase the server never sees. A database dump returns ciphertext. There's nothing else to hand over.
No identity required — ever
Discord added government ID verification in 2026 for certain features. Recline has never required email, phone number, real name, or any form of identity verification — and the architecture doesn't change to accommodate surveillance on a bad day. A username and a password is the complete signup form.
Open-source client — audit it yourself
Privacy claims are easy to write. The Recline client is AGPL-3.0 on GitHub — every function that handles encryption, key derivation, and message sending is readable. No auditor's reputation standing between you and the truth of what the code actually does.

Feature comparison

Recline vs Discord.

Same surface area — servers, channels, voice, video. Very different answers to the question of who can read what.

Feature Recline Discord
End-to-end encryption ✓ AES-GCM-256 channels · ECDH P-256 DMs ✗ Not encrypted Messages stored in plaintext on Discord's servers
Company can read messages ✓ Impossible Server only stores ciphertext, holds no keys ✗ Yes — fully visible Used for moderation, AI features, and ad targeting
Email required ✓ Never asked ✗ Required at signup
Phone number ✓ Never asked ✗ Often required for verification
Government ID / facial scan ✓ Never, under any circumstance ✗ Required for some features (2026) Biometric data held by third-party verification provider
Data sold or used for ads ✓ No ✗ Yes
Open-source client ✓ AGPL-3.0 on GitHub Every encryption function is publicly auditable ✗ Proprietary, closed source
Voice & video calls ✓ WebRTC P2P ✓ WebRTC
Screen sharing ✓ Up to 1440p included → 720p on free tier 1080p requires Nitro subscription
Servers, channels, roles ✓ Full — granular permission bitmask ✓ Full
Free tier ✓ All core features free → Limited Nitro unlocks screen share quality, emoji, and more

Transparency model

What the server actually holds.

Most privacy claims are made in prose. Here's the specific list — what Recline's infrastructure can see and what it can't, with the cryptographic reason for each.

Server can see
Your username (stored in plaintext)
Message timestamps
Which channels you belong to
That a message was sent (not its content)
Your IP address (not logged by default)
Server cannot see
Message content — encrypted before sending
DM content — ECDH, server is a blind relay
Your channel passphrase
Email or phone — never collected
Call audio or video — WebRTC is P2P

Recline is alpha software. Metadata minimization and forward secrecy are active development areas. Full privacy and security details →

CRYPTO SPEC
channels AES-GCM-256Key derived from channel passphrase via PBKDF2-SHA256. Per-message random IV. Encrypted in-browser before transmission.
direct_msgs ECDH P-256 + HKDF-SHA256Private key stays in your browser, cleared on logout. Server stores and delivers ciphertext only.
passwords Argon2id64 MiB memory, t=3, p=4. Resistant to GPU and ASIC brute-force attacks.
2fa TOTP RFC 6238Standard time-based OTP, works with any authenticator app.
sessions 256-bit random hexStored in sessions table. No JWT, no cookie-based auth state.
calls WebRTC DTLS-SRTPPeer-to-peer media. Recline handles signaling only — never in the audio or video path.
No email required No government ID No ads No data selling Open-source client E2E encrypted

FAQ

Common questions.

Recline covers the same surface area as Discord — servers with channels and roles, voice and video calls, screen sharing, direct messages, and friend lists. The fundamental difference is encryption: Discord stores messages in plaintext, fully readable to Discord staff and accessible to law enforcement. Recline encrypts messages client-side before transmission, meaning the server only ever holds ciphertext it cannot read. For groups where that distinction matters, Recline is currently one of the only platforms that combines the Discord UX model with genuine end-to-end encryption.
No. Recline signup requires only a username and password. No email address, phone number, real name, or any other personal information is collected at any point during signup or use. Account recovery uses backup codes generated at the time of 2FA setup — there is no email-based password reset, because there is no email on file.
No, and this is not a policy claim — it's a technical constraint. Channel messages are encrypted with AES-GCM-256 in your browser before leaving it, using a key derived from your server's passphrase via PBKDF2. The server never sees the passphrase and never holds the decryption key. Direct messages use ECDH P-256 key exchange, with your private key stored locally and cleared on logout. What reaches the server is ciphertext. The source code is public on GitHub if you want to verify this yourself.
No. Recline has never required a government ID, facial scan, or any form of identity document. Discord introduced mandatory identity verification for some features in 2026. Recline requires a username and a password — that is the complete list of identifying information collected, and it doesn't change based on platform policy decisions.
Yes. All core features are free with no time limit — encrypted chat, voice and video calls, screen sharing up to 1440p, server creation, custom roles and permissions, direct messages, file attachments, and friend lists. Recline also has a Spark economy: a small number of Sparks are deposited to your account automatically every day you log in. Sparks can be spent on animated messages, server-wide broadcasts, and creator tips. Buying additional Sparks is optional and never required for core communication.
Discord uses TLS for data in transit, meaning messages are protected between your browser and Discord's servers — but once they arrive, Discord holds them in readable form. This is called transport encryption, and it protects against network interception, not against the platform itself. Recline uses end-to-end encryption: messages are encrypted in your browser with AES-GCM-256 before they leave, and decrypted in the recipient's browser after arrival. The server only ever handles ciphertext. No employee access, no subpoena compliance for content (only metadata), no breach exposure of message content.
Yes. Recline has servers (communities), text channels, voice channels with live video and screen sharing, server roles with granular bitmask permissions, channel-level permission overrides, custom invite links with access controls, direct messages, and a friend system with presence indicators. The community structure is similar to Discord's, with encryption applied to all text content.

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Chat that can't be read. Even by us.

No email. No government ID. Encrypted from your first message. Free for everything that matters.

Open Recline