Open Agora

The Problem

Every major communication platform — Discord, Slack, Reddit — is owned by corporations that monetize user data, censor at will, and increasingly demand identity verification. When Discord pushed government ID verification, millions of users had no real alternative.

The platforms we rely on to connect with each other are controlled by entities whose interests don’t align with ours. They read our messages to train AI models. They hand our data to advertisers. They shut down communities that don’t fit their commercial interests.

People deserve a place to gather that belongs to no one and serves everyone.

The Vision

A community platform that is end-to-end encrypted by default, self-hostable by anyone, and federated so instances can connect like email servers. No phone number or government ID required to join. Just people talking to people, privately and freely.

Think Discord’s usability meets Signal’s privacy — with the added power that anyone can run their own server and connect it to the wider network.

What’s Been Done

• Architecture research complete — evaluated Matrix, XMPP, and custom protocol approaches
• Protocol comparison documented with tradeoffs
• Initial wireframes for core chat experience
• Community interest validated — 47 supporters and growing

How to Help

Just Interested? Request to join and follow along as we build. Your support signals demand.

Have Ideas? We need input on UX design, encryption approach, and federation protocol choices.

Ready to Build? We need Rust/Go backend developers, React frontend developers, and anyone with WebRTC or cryptography experience.

Spread the Word? Share this project with anyone who’s frustrated with the state of online communication platforms.