Wire (software)

Skype's co-founder Janus Friis helped create Wire and many Wire employees previously worked for Skype. Wire Swiss GmbH launched the Wire app on 3 December 2014. In August 2015, the company added group calling to their app. From its launch until March 2016, Wire's messages were only encrypted between the client and the company's server. In March 2016, the company added end-to-end encryption for its messaging traffic, as well as a video calling feature.{{cite web|last1=Kahn|first1=Jeremy|title=Amid Apple's FBI fight, app developers are ramping up encryption|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-encryption-10a6b3d8-e6da-11e5-a9ce-681055c7a05f-20160310-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311184555/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-encryption-10a6b3d8-e6da-11e5-a9ce-681055c7a05f-20160310-story.html|archive-date=11 March 2016|website=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|access-date=14 July 2016|date=10 March 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Auchard|first1=Eric|title=Skype co-founder launches ultra-private messaging, with video|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dataprotection-messaging-wire-idUSKCN0WC2GM|access-date=11 March 2016|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|date=11 March 2016}} Wire Swiss GmbH released the source code of the Wire client applications in July 2016.{{cite web|last1=Meyer|first1=David|title=Wire Wants to Bring Encrypted Chat to Cars and the Internet of Things|url=http://fortune.com/2016/07/22/wire-open-source/|website=Fortune|publisher=Time Inc.|access-date=25 July 2016|date=22 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=Wire Swiss GmbH|url=https://github.com/wireapp/|website=GitHub|access-date=25 July 2016}} In 2018, Wire launched its collaboration solution{{buzzword-inline|date=June 2025}} featuring end-to-end encrypted chat, conferencing, video calls and file-sharing on desktop and mobile for businesses.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesschief.com/leadership/7265/Wire-brings-secure-collaboration-to-North-America|title=Wire brings secure collaboration to North America|website=www.businesschief.com|access-date=2019-08-19|archive-date=2019-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819232414/https://www.businesschief.com/leadership/7265/Wire-brings-secure-collaboration-to-North-America|url-status=dead}}

Wire offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, file-sharing, video and voice calls, and guest rooms for external communication.

The app allows group calling with up to twenty-five participants and video conferences support up to 12 people.{{cite web|last=Trueman|first=Charlotte|date=6 October 2020|title=Wire targets Zoom, Teams and others with secure video upgrades|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/3584565/wire-targets-zoom-teams-and-others-with-secure-video-upgrades.html#:~:text=Secure%20communication%20platform%20Wire%20has,call%20with%20up%20to%2025.|website=Computerworld}}{{Cite web|url=http://support.wire.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001019225|title=Start a video conference call|website=Wire – Support|date=10 October 2024 }} A stereo feature places participants in a "virtual space" so that users can differentiate voice directionality.{{cite magazine|last=Pierce|first=David|title=Messaging App Declares War on Crappy Conference Calls|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/08/wire-declares-war-on-terrible-conference-calling/|magazine=Wired|publisher=Condé Nast|date=12 August 2015|access-date=12 August 2015}} The application adapts to varying network conditions.

The application supports the exchange of animated GIFs up to 5MB through a media integration with Giphy.{{cite web|title=Wire and Giphy Make Communication Fun|date=30 June 2015|url=http://appmess.com/news/25434-wire-and-giphy-make-communication-fun/|publisher=AppMess|access-date=30 June 2015}} The iOS and Android versions also include a sketch feature that allows users to draw a sketch into a conversation or over a photo.{{cite web|title=Communicating "I Love You" in the Emoji Era|url=http://www.psfk.com/2015/07/communication-trends-emoji-era-snapchat-swiftkey-giphy.html|publisher=PSFK|access-date=17 July 2015}}

Wire is available on mobile, desktop and web. The web service is called Wire for Web.{{cite web|last= Perez|first=Sarah|title=Skype Co-Founder Backs Wire, A New Communications App Launching Today On iOS, Android And Mac|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/02/skype-co-founder-backs-wire-a-new-communications-app-launching-today-on-ios-android-and-mac/|publisher=TechCrunch|access-date=2 December 2014}} Wire activity is synced on iOS, Android and web apps.{{cite web|last= Sawers|first=Paul |title=Wire wants to be Skype for the modern age, launches with the backing of Skype co-founder Janus Friis|url=https://venturebeat.com/2014/12/02/wire-launches-as-a-skype-for-the-modern-age-with-the-backing-of-skype-co-founder-janus-friis/|publisher=VentureBeat|date=2 December 2014|access-date=2 December 2014}} The desktop version supports screen sharing.{{cite web|last1=Lopez|first1=Napier|title=Open-source Wire messenger gets encrypted screen-sharing|url=https://thenextweb.com/apps/2016/07/30/open-source-wire-messenger-gets-encrypted-screen-sharing/|publisher=The Next Web|access-date=1 September 2016|date=30 July 2016}}

Wire's technology solution{{buzzword-inline|date=June 2025}} can be deployed either in the cloud, private cloud or on-premises.

One of the latest features rolled out by Wire is a secure external collaboration capability called 'guest room'.{{Cite web|url=https://wire.com/en/features/encrypted-guest-rooms/|title=Guest rooms · Wire|website=wire.com|date=13 November 2020 }} Wire's secure guest rooms feature extends end-to-end encryption to conversations with external parties without requiring them to register, or even download anything.{{Cite web|url=http://support.wire.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003862909|title=Invite a guest with an existing Wire account to my team conversations|website=Wire – Support|date=22 July 2024 }}

Wire also includes a function for ephemeral messaging in 1:1 and group conversations.{{cite web|title=Safe and tidy with Timed Messages|url=https://medium.com/wire-news/safe-and-tidy-with-timed-messages%EF%B8%8F-4f26ff17b11b|publisher=Wire Swiss|access-date=26 October 2016|date=25 October 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Mott|first1=Nathaniel|title=Encrypted Messaging Apps Wire And Signal Turn To Ephemeral Messages|url=http://www.tomshardware.com/news/wire-signal-ephemeral-messages,32923.html|website=Tom's Hardware|publisher=Purch Group Inc.|access-date=26 October 2016|date=25 October 2016}}

Wire provides end-to-end encryption for all features. Wire's instant messages are encrypted with Proteus, a protocol that Wire Swiss developed based on the Signal Protocol.{{cite web|title= Add attribution |url=https://github.com/wireapp/proteus/blob/develop/src/internal/session.rs#L2|website=GitHub|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|date=9 May 2016|access-date=15 July 2016}} Wire's voice calls are encrypted with DTLS and SRTP.{{cite web|url=https://wire.com/resource/Wire%20Security%20Whitepaper/download/|title=Wire Security Whitepaper|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|access-date=15 July 2016}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In addition to this, client-server communication is protected by Transport Layer Security.{{cite web|last= Dredge|first=Stuart|title=Skype co-founder backs Wire - to take on Skype|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/03/wire-communications-skype-janus-friis-app|website=The Guardian|date=3 December 2014|access-date=3 December 2014}}

Wire is currently in the midst of working to develop Messaging Layer Security (MLS), a new protocol designed to facilitate more secure enterprise messaging platforms under The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).{{Cite web|url=https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/inside-mls-the-new-protocol-for-secure-enterprise-messaging/d/d-id/1335075|title=Inside MLS, the New Protocol for Secure Enterprise Messaging|website=Dark Reading|date=27 June 2019}} In 2016, during the IETF meeting in Berlin, Wire proposed a standard that was protected by modern security properties and could be used by companies large and small. During an interview with [https://www.darkreading.com/ Dark Reading], Raphael Robert, Head of Security at Wire, mentioned that Messaging Layer Security (MLS) should be ready to integrate into messaging platforms by 2021.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Wire's source code is accompanied by the GPLv3 but the readme file states that a number of additional restrictions specified by the Wire Terms of Use take precedence.{{cite web|author=wireapp |url=https://github.com/wireapp/wire-desktop/blob/master/LICENSE |title=wire-desktop/LICENSE at master · wireapp/wire-desktop · GitHub |publisher=Github.com |access-date=2017-12-16}}{{cite web|author=wireapp |url=https://github.com/wireapp/wire-ios/blob/develop/README.md |title=wire-ios/README.md at develop ¡ wireapp/wire-ios ¡ GitHub |publisher=Github.com |access-date=2017-12-16}}{{cite web|url=https://wire.com/en/legal/ |title=Legal · Wire |publisher=Wire.com |access-date=2017-12-16}} Among other things, users who have compiled their own applications may not change the way it connects and interacts with the company's centralised servers.{{cite web|last1=Menge-Sonnentag|first1=Rainald|title=Wire-Messenger ist jetzt vollständig Open Source|url=http://www.heise.de/developer/meldung/Wire-Messenger-ist-jetzt-vollstaendig-Open-Source-3277490.html|website=Heise.de|access-date=28 July 2016|language=de|date=27 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=Wire iOS client|url=https://github.com/wireapp/wire-ios|website=GitHub|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|access-date=28 July 2016}}

Wire implemented a security by design approach, with security and privacy as core values. Wire is 100% open source with its source code available on [https://github.com/wireapp GitHub], independently audited,{{cite web|url=https://www.x41-dsec.de/reports/X41-Kudelski-Wire-Security-Review-Web-Calling.pdf |title=Wire Security Review – Phase 2 – Web, Calling for Wire Swiss GmbH |access-date=2023-10-05|date=2018-03-07| publisher=Kudelski Security}} and ISO, CCPA, GDPR, SOX-compliant.{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/wireapp|title=Wire Swiss GmbH|website=GitHub}}{{Better source needed example|reason=The citation does not support claim of ISO, CCPA, GDPR, nor SOX-compliance.|date=November 2023}}

In December 2016, Wire's whitepapers were reviewed by a security researcher at the University of Waterloo.{{cite web|url=https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/opinion/wire/|title=Wire|website=Cryptography, Security, and Privacy (CrySP)|date=28 March 2016|access-date=22 August 2017}} The researcher praised Wire for its open approach to security, but identified serious issues that still need addressing. These included a man-in-the-middle attack on voice and video communications, possible audio and video leakage depending on unspecified codec parameters, the fact that all user passwords are uploaded to Wire's servers, significant attack surface for code replacement in the desktop client, and the fact that the server was not open-sourced, at the time when that article was written. The researcher described the security of Wire as weak in comparison to Signal, but also depicted its problems as surmountable. Wire's developers announced the addition of end-to-end authentication to Wire's calls on 14 March 2017,{{cite web|title=A major upgrade to calling|website=Medium|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|url=https://medium.com/wire-news/a-major-upgrade-to-calling-9ac8780741a1#.5jt0cku16|date=14 March 2017|access-date=14 March 2017}} and started open-sourcing Wire's server code on 7 April 2017.{{cite web|title=Open sourcing Wire server code|url=https://medium.com/wire-news/open-sourcing-wire-server-code-ef7866a731d5|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|access-date=7 April 2017|date=7 April 2017}} In March 2017, the review was updated with the conclusion that "the remaining issues with Wire are relatively minor and also affect many of its competitors." However, one major issue that remained was detailed as "the Wire client authenticates with a central server in order to provide user presence information. (Wire does not attempt to hide metadata, other than the central server promising not to log very much information.) The Wire whitepapers spend an unusual amount of space discussing the engineering details of this part of the protocol. However, the method of authentication is the same as it is on the web: the Wire client sends the unencrypted, unhashed password to the central server over TLS, the server hashes the plaintext password with scrypt, and the hash is compared to the hash stored by the server. This process leaks the user's password to the central server; the server operators (or anyone who compromises the server) could log all of the plaintext passwords as users authenticate."

On 9 February 2017, Kudelski Security and X41 D-Sec published a joint review of Wire's encrypted messaging protocol implementation.{{cite web|title=Security Review – Phase 1|url=https://www.x41-dsec.de/reports/Kudelski-X41-Wire-Report-phase1-20170208.pdf|author=Kudelski Security and X41 D-Sec|publisher=X41 D-Sec|access-date=9 February 2017|date=8 February 2017}} Non-critical issues were found that had the potential of leading to a degraded security level. The review found that "invalid public keys could be transmitted and processed without raising an error." The report also recommended that other security improvements be implemented to address thread-unsafety risks and sensitive data in memory. Wire's developers have said that "the issues that were discovered during the review have been fixed and deployed on iOS and Android. Deployment is ongoing for Wire for Web and desktop apps."{{cite web|title=Wire's independent security review|url=https://medium.com/wire-news/wires-independent-security-review-61f37a1762a8|website=Medium|publisher=Wire Swiss GmbH|access-date=9 February 2017|date=9 February 2017}}

In 2017, Wire published an article going over the implementation of its end-to-end encryption in a multi-device scenario in response to anonymous accounts on social media publishing misleading information about the app and its security.{{Cite web|url=https://wire.com/en/blog/key-verification-secure-conversations/|title=Key verification to secure your conversations · Wire|website=wire.com|date=15 January 2017 }}

In May 2017, Motherboard published an article saying that the Wire servers "keep a list of all the users a customer contacted until they delete their account".{{cite web|last1=Cox|first1=Joseph|title=Secure Messaging App Wire Stores Everyone You've Ever Contacted in Plain Text|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/secure-messaging-app-wire-stores-everyone-youve-ever-contacted-in-plain-text/|website=Motherboard|publisher=Vice Media LLC|access-date=13 May 2017|date=12 May 2017}} Wire Swiss confirmed that the statement was accurate, saying that they keep the data in order to "help with syncing conversations across multiple devices", and that they might change their approach in the future.

In July 2019, Wire won Capterra's Best Ease of Use award{{Cite web|url=https://www.capterra.com/p/170279/Wire/reviews/|title=Wire Reviews 2020 - Capterra|website=www.capterra.com}} in the team communication software category for its B2B solution.{{buzzword-inline|date=June 2025}} Later that year in October, Wire was recognized by Cybersecurity Breakthrough Awards {{Cite web|url=https://cybersecuritybreakthrough.com/2019-winners/|title=2019 Winners | CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards}} as the first-ever Secure Communications Solution of the Year awardee. In February 2020, Wire won the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards{{Cite web|url=https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/|title=Cybersecurity Excellence Awards|website=Cybersecurity Excellence Awards}} in the following categories: fastest-growing cybersecurity company, best start-up (EU), open-source security, encryption, and zero-trust security.{{Cite web|url=https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/2020-cybersecurity-excellence-awards/|title=2020 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards|date=February 6, 2019|website=Cybersecurity Excellence Awards}} Simultaneously, Cyber Defense Magazine{{Cite web|url=https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/|title=StackPath|website=www.cyberdefensemagazine.com}} announced Wire as the Best Messaging Security in an RSA 2020 special edition for the Cyber Defense Awards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cyberdefenseawards.com|title=Cyber Defense Awards | The Most Prestigious Cybersecurity Awards in the World – 7 Years Running…|website=www.cyberdefenseawards.com}}

In late 2019, Wire holding moved from Luxembourg to the US, which according to critics made it unclear how much jurisdiction the United States will have over Wire data.{{Cite web |last=Lomas |first=Ingrid Lunden and Natasha |date=2019-11-14 |title=Messaging app Wire confirms $8.2M raise, responds to privacy concerns after moving holding company to the US |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/13/messaging-app-wire-confirms-8-2m-raise-responds-to-privacy-concerns-after-moving-holding-company-to-the-us/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} The Wire Group Holding moved back to Germany as of 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.wire_group_holdings_gmbh.938a860894ae1d41e9c5ab69a8cb4c76.html|title=Business Directory of Wire Group Holdings GMBH|website=Dun&Bradstreet|access-date=30 June 2021}}

Wire Swiss GmbH receives financial backing from a firm called Iconical.

In July 2017, Wire Swiss announced the beta version of an end-to-end encrypted team messaging platform.{{cite web|last1=Lomas|first1=Natasha|title=Wire launches e2e encrypted team messaging in beta|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/20/wire-launches-e2e-encrypted-team-messaging-in-beta/|website=TechCrunch|publisher=Oath Inc.|access-date=22 August 2017|date=20 July 2017}} In October 2017, Wire officially released the team messaging platform as a subscription-based communication solution{{buzzword-inline|date=June 2025}} for businesses{{cite web|url=https://www.verdict.co.uk/wire-messaging-app/|title=Encrypted messaging app Wire is taking on Slack with its new business messenger platform {{!}} Verdict|website=www.verdict.co.uk|date=25 October 2017 |language=en-GB|access-date=2017-11-10}} and in 2019, announced that Ernst & Young chose Wire to develop a self-hosted, secure collaboration and communication platform.{{Cite web|url=https://www.verdict.co.uk/wire-by-ey-secure-messaging-accounting/|title=Wire by EY brings secure messaging to accounting|date=May 16, 2019}}

{{Portal| Telecommunications}}

• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Comparison of VoIP software
• List of video telecommunication services and product brands
• [https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3975373/market-guide-for-workstream-collaboration Gartner - Market Guide for Workstream Collaboration]
• [https://www.forrester.com/report/The+Forrester+New+Wave+Secure+Communications+Q4+2018/-/E-RES142697 The Forrester New Wave™: Secure Communications]

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

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