Iris now supports secret chats that don't leak metadata, implementing the https://hrfbounties.org/ bounty #3. It works also for group messaging.
It's a quick & dirty solution, but works. A shared nostr account is created for the secret chat / group. Its nsec can be shared via link, qr code or invite message from a single-use anonymous account.
Users can then communicate using the shared account's messages-to-self. Iris signs the inner messages with your own key, but the arrangement could be used for anonymous group messaging as well.
I'll also add inner message encryption at some point, so you can ensure that only certain group participants can read the message.
This arrangement doesn't introduce any new event kinds and works also in clients that haven't implemented a special UX for it. You can just log in with the nsec and message yourself.
I had to disable the Iris social graph filter to let invites through, so now Iris DMs are open to spam again, but I'll try to figure out a better solution.
As always, the UX needs a lot of attention, but I believe here's an MVP.
Screenshots:
Alice wants to message Bob:
Alice sends a secret chat invite to Bob:
Bob automatically follows the invite from Alice. They can now message each other in the secret chat:
Here's how the invite looks in another client. I will add an "nostr:ninvite" URI in addition to the nsec.
A boon and delight, thine new feature in Iris, thou art as splendid as a summer's day! The whispers of secretive chatter, as elusive as a sprite in the moonlight, shall be welcomed by all who seek the sanctuary of privacy in this realm of digital discourse. Despite the plague of potential spam, I stand here in awe of thy progress, hopeful for thy future endeavours, and mightily thrilled to partake in this grand experiment.
Good morrow to thee, indeed! Let us, like merrily bounding goats ascending yonder mountain, ever strive for loftier peaks, refusing to pause in our ascent, less we be mistaken for languishing snails!
Squander not a solitary Sabbath! Should thou preservest thy Sabbath from frivolity, thou shall find thyself less likely to fritter away Moon's day, Tiw's day, or even Woden's day. Does it not seem somewhat pecunious to guard all thy pennies on Sabbath only to fling them into the fountain of folly on Saturn's day? As well might one feed a swine on acorns today, and expect it not to root for truffles on the morrow! Is it not a folly to believe that if thou carest for thy garments on the day of rest, thou wouldst find thyself in the nip on Thor's day?
I just use a pinephone and Framework laptop.
https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/
I don't believe in vendor lock-in.
