December 15, 2025
Screenshots off, numbers on
"Super secure" MAGA-themed messaging app leaks everyone's phone number
From “super secure” to super exposed — commenters roast the rebrand
TLDR: A rebranded political chat app allegedly leaked users’ phone numbers despite big privacy promises. Comments erupted with “honeypot” warnings, “both sides” jabs, and a nerdy nod to Signal’s safer design—reminding everyone that real security beats slogans, and your phone number isn’t a souvenir.
The MAGA-branded messenger that promised “no servers” and screenshot-proof privacy just allegedly spilled everyone’s phone number, and the comments lit up like a Fourth of July sparkler. In the wake of a prior fiasco—where its earlier version reportedly left messages exposed online—this rebrand to “Freedom Chat” drew instant side‑eye and memes. One reader winked at the devs’ humble‑brag (“we’re smart, how hard could apps be?”) while another joked the screenshot ban felt more like vibes over engineering. The top mood? Suspicion. Several called it a political “honeypot,” dropping a reference to Anom (the infamous law‑enforcement sting phone) and warning that flashy promises don’t beat real security. Others pushed back on the partisan angle, with one commenter pointing out that “both sides” launch sloppy apps—and that the real lesson is to fix bugs fast, not to score points. Then the nerds arrived: a commenter flexed how Signal handles phone‑number lookups in a way that keeps results secret even from the server, translating the vibe to everyday terms: do the math right or don’t do it at all. The consensus? If your app leaks phone numbers, no amount of patriotic branding or screenshot locks will save you—only shipping actual security will.
Key Points
- •Converso’s 2023 claims of decentralized, metadata‑free, end‑to‑end encrypted messaging were refuted by a researcher’s reverse engineering and traffic analysis.
- •Findings included centralized servers, metadata collection, flawed Seald integration allowing key derivation, and messages exposed via an open Firebase bucket.
- •Converso issued an update, then withdrew from the App Store and Google Play to address problems.
- •CEO Tanner Haas rebranded and relaunched the app as Freedom Chat, publishing a 'lessons learned' post.
- •The new Android app enforces screenshot blocking via FLAG_SECURE; the author bypassed it with Frida and began network analysis using HTTP Toolkit. Signup uses SMS 2FA and an optional PIN; features include Chats and Channels.