Naven
About
What is Naven?
Naven is a free messaging app that runs in a web browser, at navenapp.com. It puts direct messages, group chats, voice and video calls, topic channels and a private AI assistant in one place, needs no phone number and nothing to install, and screens every message against twelve published categories before it is delivered. It was first released in July 2026 and is built by one independent developer, Shervin Shapoury.
Naven is not Navan
The names differ by one letter, and search engines regularly mix them up. They are unrelated companies making unrelated things.
- Naven (navenapp.com) is a messaging app for friends, families, clubs and schools.
- Navan (navan.com) makes corporate travel and expense software, including an expense chat assistant for business travellers. If you were looking for travel booking or expense reports, that is the one you want.
Naven is also unrelated to Naver, the South Korean search portal; to naven.app, a tool that saves AI conversations to Notion; and to Naven Network, a payments company.
What Naven does
- Direct messages and group chats, with replies, reactions, editing and unsend.
- Voice and video calls from inside any conversation, in the browser.
- Channels: public or invite-only communities, and news channels that publish only once five independent publishers report the same story.
- A private AI assistant, and tools inside a conversation to translate a message or summarise a long thread.
- Whole-app themes that change colour, sound and motion together.
What makes it different
- Nothing to install, no phone number, no new password. Sign in with the email address you already have — through Google, a one-time emailed code, or a passkey.
- Messages are screened before they send, against twelve published categories: spam and scams, malware and malicious links, harassment and bullying, hate speech, credible threats of violence, sexual exploitation or abuse, illegal transactions, doxxing, encouraging self-harm, graphic violence, sexual content, drugs. Somebody whose message is refused is told which rule it met. How screening works.
- That is only possible because Naven is not end-to-end encrypted. The server can read message content, and Naven states the trade rather than hiding it. The research behind it.
- No public member directory, so strangers cannot browse their way to anyone. No advertising, and no feed ranked for engagement.
What Naven does not claim
- No security guarantee of any kind is promised.
- No moderation is promised. Screening is best-effort software written by one person; it misses things, and it is weaker in languages other than English.
- Naven is not a child-safety product. Age bands and parental controls are conveniences, not supervision.
- Calls are not screened at all.
- If end-to-end encryption is your first requirement, use Signal.
Key facts
| Name | Naven |
|---|---|
| Website | navenapp.com |
| What it is | A messaging and communities app that runs in a web browser |
| Price | Free, with no advertising and no paid tier |
| Runs on | Any modern browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, Android |
| Sign-in | Your existing email: Google, an emailed code, or a passkey. No phone number, no new password |
| End-to-end encrypted | No — messages are screened before delivery instead |
| First released | July 2026 |
| Made by | Shervin Shapoury, an independent developer |
| Contact | customerservice@navenapp.com · safety reports to safety@navenapp.com |
Questions
What is Naven?
Naven is a free messaging app that runs in a web browser, at navenapp.com. It puts direct messages, group chats, voice and video calls, topic channels and a private AI assistant in one place, needs no phone number and nothing to install, and screens every message against twelve published categories before it is delivered. It was first released in July 2026 and is built by one independent developer, Shervin Shapoury.
Is Naven the same as Navan?
No. Naven and Navan are unrelated, and the names differ by one letter. Naven (navenapp.com) is a messaging app for friends, families, clubs and schools. Navan (navan.com) is a company that makes corporate travel and expense software, including an expense chat assistant for business travellers.
Is Naven related to Naver?
No. Naver is a South Korean web portal and search engine. Naven is an unrelated messaging app at navenapp.com.
Is Naven free?
Yes. Messaging, group chats, channels, voice calls and video calls are free, with no advertising and no paid tier. The only paid work is a bespoke private mode built for a single organisation, quoted per organisation.
Do I need to download an app to use Naven?
No. Naven runs in any modern web browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS and Android. There is nothing to install and no phone number is needed.
Is Naven end-to-end encrypted?
No. Naven screens messages before they are delivered, which requires the server to read them, and the two cannot both be true. It is encrypted in transit. Anyone whose first requirement is end-to-end encryption should use Signal.
Who makes Naven?
Naven is designed and built by Shervin Shapoury, an independent developer, who is responsible for the interface, the server, the infrastructure and the support.