A messaging app that does not ask for your phone number
Naven has no phone number field. Not optional, not hidden — there is nowhere to put one.
By Naven · Updated
Who this is for
Anyone unwilling or unable to hand a phone number to an app or a group.
The problem
WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Snapchat and Viber all key your identity to a phone number, and a group chat exposes it to everyone in the group.
How Naven handles it
- Sign in with the email address you already have — through Google, or with a one-time code Naven emails you. No new password, and no phone number.
- Your email address is never shown to other members — you are found by an address someone already has, and only if you turned that on.
- No public member directory, so nobody can search their way to you.
- Calls work the same way — voice and video without a number on either end.
What it costs
Nothing. Naven is free, with no advertising, no paid tier and no data sale. There is no card, no trial and no phone number.
Other use cases: Family group chat · Teen messaging parents can live with · Schools and libraries · Friends and family abroad · Clubs and small communities · Messaging with nothing to install · Communities without an algorithmic feed · A private mode for your organisation · Organising without a phone number · A team chat parents can join · Client chat without your personal number · Practising a language with someone abroad · Coordinating care for a relative · A study group that works on school devices · A volunteer rota that people read · A group for new parents · A house chat that survives people moving out · A chat for a one-off event · Messaging for a small charity · Tutor and student messaging
