Molly

Hardened open-source fork of Signal for Android, with database encryption, Tor support and no Google code.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Molly

Molly is an independent fork of Signal for Android that connects to the regular Signal network, so you keep chatting with all your Signal contacts while getting extra protections. It encrypts the local message database with a passphrase, can lock itself automatically after a period of inactivity, shreds sensitive data from memory, and supports routing traffic through a SOCKS proxy or Tor via Orbot. The Molly-FOSS build removes Google's proprietary components and can deliver notifications through UnifiedPush instead of Google's push service, which makes it popular on de-Googled phones such as GrapheneOS. It also supports linking several devices to one account. Molly is free and open source under the AGPL, and it is distributed through its own F-Droid repository and GitHub rather than the Play Store. It only runs on Android, it depends on Signal's servers and protocol, and updates arrive a little after Signal's own releases.

Best for: Security-conscious Android users, especially on de-Googled phones, who use Signal.

What works

Works with all your existing Signal contacts
Passphrase-encrypted database and auto-lock
FOSS build without Google services, with UnifiedPush

Why people leave

Android only
Updates trail official Signal releases
Not in the Play Store, so installing takes extra steps

Top Molly alternatives

See all 4

1
Signal
The official app, on every platform and updated first.
66.5
2
Session
No phone number at all, if Signal's registration is the concern.
62.6
3
SimpleX Chat
No identifiers and self-hostable relays for de-Googled setups.
59.6
4
Conversations
A battery-friendly XMPP client that doesn't rely on Google push either.
57.2

Why people left Molly

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Molly: common questions

Is Molly free?

Yes, Molly is free to use.

Is Molly open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at mollyim/mollyim-android.

What platforms does Molly run on?

Molly is available for Android.

What are the best alternatives to Molly?

The highest-ranked Molly alternatives right now are Signal, Session and SimpleX Chat. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Molly alternatives

Molly facts

4 of 4 verified

License: AGPL-3.0; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: AGPL-3.0 (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0).”
Based on: Signal (independent fork); Checked Oct 25, 2026molly.im(opens source in a new tab); “Molly is an independent Signal fork for Android”
Database encryption: Passphrase; Checked Oct 25, 2026molly.im(opens source in a new tab); “Protects database with Passphrase Encryption”
Tor support: Yes, via Orbot; Checked Oct 25, 2026molly.im(opens source in a new tab); “Supports SOCKS proxy and Tor via Orbot”