@RelaySMS profile picture
RelaySMS @RelaySMS

RelaySMS (formerly SMSWithoutBorders(SWOB) app) is an open source offline messaging app that sends encrypted SMS to your online platforms.

Joined June 2024
  • Tweets 137
  • Following 92
  • Followers 100
15 Photos and videos
Quick question for RelaySMS users: What's the one thing about the current app that you wish was simpler? Asking for a reason. 👇
4
If your communication tool requires the government's permission to keep running, it's not a freedom tool. Change my mind, I'll wait😎
1
9
Heads up: X (Twitter) publications via RelaySMS are temporarily paused due to changes in X's API pricing model. We're working on it and will resume shortly. Gmail, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky are all working as usual. 💙
5
98
Most people hear "SMS" and think 2005. Here's what SMS can do in 2026: → Send emails → Message on Telegram → Reach Mastodon Bluesky All encrypted. All without internet. All open source. What platform would you want to reach first?
1
1
50
Bluesky built a decentralized protocol so no single government could control it. Russia just blocked it at the network layer anyway. Decentralization isn't enough if the connection itself is cut. That's why RelaySMS exists, Bluesky over SMS, no internet required. @bluesky
OONI
@OpenObservatory
Apr 23
‼️ Russia blocked Bluesky explorer.ooni.org/findings/2… As of 11th April 2026, OONI data shows that access to @bluesky is blocked on multiple networks in #Russia. On some networks, the block is implemented by means of DNS tampering and automatically confirmed. On most networks, the block is implemented by means of TLS interference. This follows the blocking of Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and many other platforms. #ooni #censorship #opendata
2
5
58
Every week, messages get through that weren't supposed to. Shutdowns fail. Blackouts break. Voices keep going. 5,580 users. 145 countries. Still counting. Who's joining this week?
1
1
2
30
download here relay.smswithoutborders.com/…
2
21
RelaySMS supports Gmail, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky. All via SMS. All encrypted. Which platform would you use first during a shutdown, and why?
1
2
45
Telegram blocked in Russia, but SMS still works. RelaySMS users in Russia can still message on Telegram via encrypted SMS. No internet required. Question for the digital rights community: at what point does SMS resilience become part of the standard shutdown response toolkit?
OONI
@OpenObservatory
Mar 30
‼️ #Russia has blocked Telegram, one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the country explorer.ooni.org/findings/9… OONI data suggests that many ISPs in Russia began blocking access to Telegram on 20 March 2026. This follows blocks of other major services, including WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, and numerous independent news outlets.
2
6
129
The endgame of every internet shutdown isn't darkness - it's a filtered internet that works for the regime and no one else. Iran is just further along the road.
Doug Madory (also on Bluesky)
@DougMadory
Apr 20
While 90 million Iranians stay cut off, traffic is slowly creeping back — but only for officials, loyalists, and businesses granted "white SIM" access. @kentikinc data shows the whitelisted internet quietly growing. A look inside Iran's drift toward digital apartheid: #DigitalBlackOutIran‌ kentik.com/blog/irans-intern…
0:05
2
5
78
The most dangerous moment for a journalist isn't the protest. It's the 48 hours after when the internet is cut, and no one can hear them. That's the gap RelaySMS fills. What tools are you using in high-risk coverage?
1
2
6
37
relay.smswithoutborders.com/…
1
24
Governments have shut down the internet so many times in the last 5 years. Each time, RelaySMS users kept posting. Kept filing. Kept organizing. Via SMS. What would you do first if your internet went dark right now?
3
6
55
To everyone using, contributing, running gateways, spreading the word, and providing feedback: You're building this with us. Communication freedom is collective work.🌍🙏
2
4
29
For journalists in high-risk areas: RelaySMS lets you file stories via SMS when the internet is cut. → Send to email → Tweet updates → Message editors on Telegram Your voice doesn't stop when the internet does.
3
7
66
Want to help people in shutdown zones? Set up a RelaySMS Gateway in 10 minutes: 1. Device with stable internet 2. Install DekuSMS 3. Configure settings 4. Done—you are infrastructure Guide: docs.smswithoutborders.com/d…

Gateway Clients | Smswithoutborders Projects >> Documentation

Gateway Clients are a core part of how RelaySMS works. They are phone numbers or devices located in areas with an active internet connection that act as a bridge between offline users and online...

docs.smswithoutborders.com
2
4
23
Unpopular opinion: If a government can shut down your "human right" to internet access, it was never a right. It was a privilege. SMS is harder to turn off. That's why 5,580 people use RelaySMS.
2
3
17
1,121 messages sent without any internet connection. Not "low bandwidth." Not "slow connection." ZERO internet. Complete shutdown. No connectivity whatsoever. The messages still got through. Via SMS. 145 countries. All open source. This is what resilience looks like.
3
5
53
The internet is centralized. Governments can shut it down. Companies can block you. SMS is more device-to-device. Can not be turned off without shutting down the cellular networks. We're using 1990s technology to solve 2020s censorship. Sometimes old tech is the best tech.
3
6
53
RelaySMS users: If you're being asked to reset your password, that's intentional. We upgraded how we handle passwords. One-time inconvenience = better security ✅ Click "Reset Password" and you're good to go.
0:13
2
4
42
Load more