what is cabal?

cabal is a private chat platform empowering friends and communities to connect on their own terms

decentralized

a cabal is a decentralized swarm of connected user devices. devices connect directly to each other, rather than to a central server. your community gains independence from tech companies and resilience against failures in centralized infrastructure. no servers means no server crashes or shutdowns.

community-led

a cabal is a safe space where you and your community are in control. anyone can create a cabal - but it can't be owned. our subjective moderation system means there are no central admins: you are always an admin from your own perspective, and you are free to delegate moderation actions to those you trust.

private

all your private messages are end-to-end encrypted. cabal joining keys are secret. you can connect on your own terms, without fear of surveillance. cabal is a community project, with no corporations involved, so we never store or sell your data.

works offline

you don't need to be connected all the time to use cabal. you can read chat history and write new messages while offline and sync up with fellow disconnecteds.

resilient

cabal works on your old computer from ten years ago and it can work on the computer you'll have ten years from now. we will never disable your client and force you to update. a cabal can outlast the people who create it and survive changes in technology and infrastructure.

our values

1. respect & kindness hate speech is not welcome on cabal. we strive to be a safe space for communities who face discrimination or safety concerns on other platforms. we are kind to each other and to ourselves.

2. collaboration & communication, not hierarchy & authority everyone is welcome to contribute to cabal (just make sure to read the contributing guidelines). honest and clear communication is important to us, as is collaborating with people who align with the project's values and mission.

3. burnout-free zone as a community project, cabal is run by volunteers and relies on its community of contributors. your and our well-being has the highest priority and nobody should feel pressure or burnout while contributing. let's jam!

our mission

cabal exists to empower communities. we think people should be able to connect without fear of tracking, censorship, or commercialisation of their data. the road there is long, but we want to enable resilience in the face of political or climate crises that may lead to internet outages or failures in centralized systems. and we think everyone, everywhere has a right to autonomous communication. we dream of decentralised networks of diverse, self-governing communities where people are free to express themselves while maintaining their right to privacy.