Briar Is in Maintenance Mode
Update: Briar Transitions to Maintenance Mode
Date: July 9, 2026 Status:
This post serves as a brief status report regarding the current trajectory of the Briar project.
The TL;DR: Briar remains an active project; however, our current focus is strictly limited to providing critical bugfixes and essential security patches.
The Detailed Context
For several years, the development team has struggled to overcome a variety of persistent technical hurdles. These challenges have hindered the app's overall utility and user experience.
Primary Technical Pain Points:
- Excessive battery consumption.
- Inconsistent background performance on the Android platform.
- Absence of critical features (e.g., file attachments and account backups).
- A cumbersome process for establishing contacts and managing offline communication.
To address these, we explored several drastic paths, including a total rewrite of the codebase or potentially bifurcating the software into two distinct apps—one for online connectivity and another for offline use.
The Financial Struggle
The project faced a significant funding gap. Because we lacked a concrete, long-term strategic roadmap, we were hesitant to solicit new grants. Consequently, development was sustained solely through the team's spare time.
The Decision Process
The path to our current status was not linear. The following diagram illustrates the evolution of our decision:
Last year, feeling that these obstacles were insurmountable, we decided to terminate the project entirely. We focused on a final set of updates for desktop and Android to ensure the software remained usable for as long as possible. However, the outpouring of support from the community and a steady influx of new users changed our perspective.
Current Goal: We are now operating in maintenance mode. While we are currently limited to security and stability updates, we maintain a hope to eventually make incremental improvements to the aforementioned long-term issues.
Addressing the Rumors
We are publishing this update to clear up misconceptions. Some rumors suggested the project was closing down; these stemmed from private discussions we had with members of the privacy and internet freedom communities last year before we pivoted to maintenance mode.
Our Supporters
Briar has been made possible through the generosity of the following organizations:
| Funding Body | Role |
|---|---|
| Small Media Foundation | Grant Provider |
| Open Internet Tools Project | Grant Provider |
| Access Now | Grant Provider |
| Open Technology Fund | Grant Provider |
| Prototype Fund | Grant Provider |
| Internews | Grant Provider |
| NLnet Foundation | Grant Provider |
| Next Generation Internet | Programme Support |
| ISC Project | Grant Provider |
| eQualit.ie | Grant Provider |
Contact Information & Socials
If you need to reach the team, please use the following contacts:
- Nico Alt:
nico@briarproject.org[PGP key] - Torsten Grote:
torsten@briarproject.org[PGP key] - Michael Rogers:
contact@briarproject.org[PGP key] - Mastodon:
@Briar
Related Archives:
- Briar Desktop 0.6.0-beta release
- Briar Desktop 0.5.0-beta (macOS, private groups, Mailbox)
- Introduction of Briar Mailbox for better connectivity
- Security audit: Three vulnerabilities patched
- Research: Android behavior during state-led internet shutdowns
- Briar Desktop 0.4.0-beta (Windows and forums)
- Announcement of additional funding for Briar Desktop
Support the Project: For those wishing to contribute via cryptocurrency:
Bitcoin and BCH: 1NZCKkUCtJV2U2Y9hDb9uq8S7ksFCFGR6K