SNIKKET COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

What SNIKKET COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY does

Snikket Community Interest Company (company no. 12741702) is a not-for-profit incorporated in 2021 and headquartered in Worcester, England, that develops open-source private messaging software built on the XMPP/Jabber protocol. Its product line consists of Snikket Chat as the core messaging experience, native Snikket Android and iOS apps, a self-hostable Snikket Server (Docker-based), a Push Notification Service, and the Borogove cross-platform XMPP client SDK released in November 2025. The company emphasizes privacy-by-design and federation, positioning its stack against centralized commercial messaging platforms.

The company's revenue mechanics are hybrid and modest in scale. It operates a managed Snikket Hosting subscription at approximately $6 USD / €5.50 EUR per month per instance, accepts donations through Liberapay, GitHub Sponsors, and bank transfer, and has received grant funding from NGI DAPSI (2021) and NGI Assure/NLnet (2022). A partnership with JMP.chat and Soprani.ca jointly sponsors approximately half of the lead developer's time, which is the company's principal engineering capacity beyond grant cycles. Snikket does not publish ARR or customer-count disclosures, and serves a globally distributed, privacy-oriented consumer and small-organization base across 30+ languages, with bridge integrations to Matrix, IRC, Email, and SIP extending the product's reach across adjacent ecosystems.

Name

SNIKKET COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

Legal name

Snikket Community Interest Company

Website

https://snikket.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Snikket Community Interest Company is a Worcester, England-based not-for-profit (founded 2021) that develops open-source, privacy-focused messaging software on the XMPP protocol, offering self-hostable servers, native mobile apps, and managed hosting subscriptions to a global base of privacy-conscious consumers and small organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Messaging Software

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Telegraph & Other Message Communications (4822)

akta.pro primary industry

Secure/Encrypted Messaging (BPAMACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Privacy-First & Decentralized Social Networks (BPAMABAN)

Keywords

• Open source messaging
• Federated chat platform
• XMPP communication software
• Self-hosted messaging server
• End-to-end encrypted chat

Headquarters

HQ city

Worcester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Snikket Hosting Subscription: Managed hosting service where users pay a recurring subscription (approximately $6 USD or €5.50 EUR per month) to have their Snikket instance hosted and maintained by Snikket CIC. Includes 14-day trial period. Revenue covers servers, maintenance, and operational costs.
2. Donations: Accepts donations via Liberapay (preferred), GitHub Sponsors, and bank transfer. Donations help cover project infrastructure (website, domain names, push notification services, monitoring), development costs (Apple developer account), conference travel, and test devices.
3. NGI DAPSI Grant: EU-funded Next Generation Internet grant through Data Portability and Services Incubator (DAPSI) for XMPP account portability project. Funded approximately 9 months of work on standardizing protocols and developing export/import/migration tools.
4. NGI Assure/NLnet Grant: Grant from NLnet Foundation under NGI Assure program for security work on Prosody XMPP server, including multi-factor authentication features.
5. JMP.chat Partnership: JMP.chat sponsors half of lead developer Matthew's time on the project as part of their partnership, providing complementary services to their telephony customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Snikket develops and distributes open-source, decentralized messaging software built on the XMPP protocol, providing private communication through a federated network of independent servers. Its offerings include mobile apps (Android, iOS), self-hostable server software (Docker), and a managed Snikket Hosting subscription service. The platform supports end-to-end encrypted messaging, audio/video calling, group chats, file sharing, and secure backups.

Product overview

Snikket is a suite of open-source, decentralized messaging products built on the XMPP protocol. The portfolio consists of the Snikket Chat platform as the core product, supported by official Android and iOS mobile apps, the Snikket Server software for self-hosting, and the Snikket Hosting managed service. The ecosystem also includes the Borogove SDK for cross-platform development and a developer-operated Push Notification Service. Key features include end-to-end encryption (OMEMO), user organization via Circles, group messaging, and audio/video calling. The company operates as a Community Interest Company focused on privacy and communication freedom.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Snikket Chat Decentralized, federated messaging platform built on the XMPP protocol enabling private messaging, group chats, and audio/video calls with end-to-end encryption. Users can self-host servers or use the hosted service.
• Snikket Android App Official Android messaging application available on Google Play and F-Droid. Supports text messaging, group chats, audio/video calls, file sharing, voice messages, location sharing, and secure encrypted backups.
• Snikket iOS App Official iOS messaging application available on Apple App Store. Supports messaging, group chats, audio/video calls, and encrypted communications. Currently English-only translation.
• Snikket Server Self-hostable messaging server software packaged as Docker containers. Powers Snikket instances with features including user management, invitations, circles, push notifications, and STUN/TURN for media relay.
• Snikket Hosting Managed cloud hosting service for Snikket instances. Provides easy setup and maintenance with approximately $6 USD/€5.50 EUR monthly pricing, including 14-day trial period. Primary servers in Germany with backups in Switzerland.
• Borogove SDK Cross-platform Haxe-based Software Development Kit for building XMPP chat applications. Supports compilation to JavaScript (web) and Swift (iOS). Enables consistent cross-platform app development with zero XMPP knowledge required.

Quantifiable outcome

• No data collection or monetization - privacy by design
• +3 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration23 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, primary and secondary.

• ProsodycoreTechnology or IntegrationProsody is the XMPP server project that Snikket's server software is built upon. Snikket uses Prosody as its foundational technology. Improvements to Prosody directly benefit Snikket. Matthew Wild, founder of Snikket, also contributes significantly to Prosody development.
• Conversations (Daniel Gultsch)coreTechnology or IntegrationSnikket Android app is derived from the Conversations app by Daniel Gultsch (iNPUTmice). Snikket follows Conversations closely and contributes back to upstream. Conversations 3.0 features will eventually be integrated into Snikket.
• SiskincoreTechnology or IntegrationSnikket iOS app is based on the Siskin iOS project. Snikket maintains relationship with Siskin developers for iOS app improvements and feature parity.
• JMP.chatprimaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJMP.chat provides free Snikket instances to their telephony subscribers. They sponsor half of Matthew Wild's development time. Their Cheogram app integrates Snikket instance launch. JMP's customers get complementary XMPP/Snikket services alongside SMS/call gateway.
• Soprani.caprimaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUmbrella organization for JMP.chat and related open-source projects. Provides half of Matthew Wild's development funding and collaborates on shared code between Snikket and Cheogram apps.
• CheogramsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationCheogram Android app shares code with Snikket Android (both derived from Conversations). Both apps contribute back to upstream Conversations. Cheogram iOS and WWW apps are built on Borogove SDK, co-developed with Snikket.
• Superbloom (formerly Simply Secure)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUX design consultancy that worked on Snikket app user interface and experience. Previously known as Simply Secure. Provided wireframes and design guidance for Android/iOS apps and planned web/desktop clients. Work funded by Open Technology Fund grant.
• XMPP Standards FoundationcoreTechnology or IntegrationStandards organization governing XMPP protocol. Snikket participates in XMPP standards process, submitting protocol improvements for ratification.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Threema: Threema is a Switzerland-based privacy-first messaging app with end-to-end encryption and no phone-number requirement. Targets the same privacy-conscious individuals and small organizations as Snikket, with comparable paid/premium positioning.
• Delta Chat: Delta Chat is an open-source messenger that uses email infrastructure (IMAP/SMTP) rather than XMPP. Both are open-source, decentralized messaging clients targeting privacy-aware users; Delta Chat was a fellow exhibitor at FOSDEM.
• Signal Foundation: Signal is the most direct peer — an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform (Signal Protocol) used globally by individuals and organizations for private communications. Both Snikket and Signal compete in privacy-first messaging, though Signal is centralized while Snikket is federated via XMPP.
• Element (Matrix): Element offers Matrix-based decentralized messaging for individuals and enterprises with end-to-end encryption. Like Snikket, it emphasizes federation and self-hosting; Snikket even bridges to Matrix via aria-net.org. Targets overlap in privacy-conscious teams and open-source communities.
• Wire: Wire provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice, and video for enterprises and individuals. It is a direct peer in the secure messaging category, with comparable features (E2EE, group chat, file sharing) and overlap in privacy-focused organizational use cases.
• Session: Session is a privacy-focused messenger using an onion-routed, decentralized network with end-to-end encryption. It competes directly with Snikket in privacy-first messaging for individuals and small groups, though Session uses its own blockchain-style routing rather than XMPP.
• JMP.chat: JMP.chat is a partner and adjacent XMPP/SIP telephony provider offering free Snikket instances to subscribers. It overlaps with Snikket in offering XMPP-based messaging to privacy-conscious users, and sponsors half of Snikket's lead developer.

Emerging players

• Rocket.Chat: Rocket.Chat is an open-source team communication platform offering self-hosted and cloud deployment with federation and E2EE. Comparable to Snikket in the self-hosted/team messaging space but more enterprise-focused; both share FOSS/open-source ethos.
• Briar: Briar is an open-source peer-to-peer messaging app designed for activists and journalists needing censorship-resistant, offline-capable communications. Both Snikket and Briar target privacy-sensitive users with decentralized architectures, though Briar emphasizes mesh/offline use cases.
• Conversations (iNPUTmice): Conversations is the Android XMPP client Snikket is built on. It targets the same privacy-focused individual and small-organization segments via XMPP, and Snikket's Android app is a Conversations fork. They cooperate closely and Conversations 3.0 features flow into Snikket.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/snikket_im
• GitHubgithub.com/snikket-im

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SNIKKET COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY