Overview
JOIZ is a private messaging app that lets you text, voice-call, and video-call without giving anyone your phone number or email. You sign in with a Cardano wallet instead of a phone code, which keeps your personal contact details out of the app entirely. It works in a web browser as well as desktop and mobile apps, so the same account follows you between devices1.
The team is based in Switzerland and goes by mainlab and Steb. Text messages are stored on a Swiss server in scrambled form, so only you and the people in the chat can read them, and you can wipe them from that server at any time21.
Key Features
- No phone number, no email, no SIM card. Sign-up only asks for a Cardano wallet. That becomes your JOIZ-ID, the name other people use to find you, and the app never collects a phone number or email address1.
- Group calls up to 50 people. Run group video chats with up to 32 people on camera or up to 50 on voice, plus screen-sharing for meetings, watch parties, or showing a friend how to fix something3.
- Calls don't pass through JOIZ servers. Voice and video go directly between everyone in the chat, so the company can't see, store, or record them1.
- Your texts live in Switzerland and can be wiped. Text messages are scrambled and held on a Swiss server. You can permanently delete your whole history from that server whenever you want1.
- Pay once for life, or once a year. You can either buy a one-time access token for lifetime use, or pay a yearly fee. Prices are set in DJED, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, so the cost doesn't swing with crypto prices2.
What to Expect
Setting up JOIZ feels a lot like setting up any other messaging app, with one extra step. You connect a Cardano wallet, pick a JOIZ-ID (the name others will see), and set a password. From then on, you log in on your phone or laptop with just the ID and password. Your wallet only comes back into the picture if you ever forget that password1.
Once you're in, you can send text and voice messages, start one-on-one or group calls, and share your screen. Notifications still reach you when the app is closed, so messages arrive in the background1. Unlike free messengers, JOIZ asks you to pay something up front, either by buying its lifetime access token or by paying a yearly fee. In return, it doesn't collect your phone number, doesn't show ads, and doesn't store your voice or video calls anywhere4.
