They connect at a mutually agreed-upon, randomized intermediate "Rendezvous Point".
To understand why an identity like ie7h37c4qmu5ccza is secure, it helps to examine how the network handles a message.
The reason TorChat is now defunct is a fascinating story of internet evolution. In late 2021, the Tor network officially upgraded its "onion services" from version 2 (v2) to version 3 (v3). Tor v3 addresses are 56 characters long, as opposed to the 16-character v2 addresses that TorChat uses. Torchat ie7h37c4qmu5ccza 14
: No central server stores your data; messages travel directly between clients.
While old v2 hashes like ie7h37c4qmu5ccza are frequently cited in historical open-source repositories and network documentation, modern secure applications have migrated to the longer 56-character v3 standard to maintain resistance against brute-force attacks and cryptographic degradation. Why Metadata Protection Matters In late 2021, the Tor network officially upgraded
TorChat was a noble but flawed attempt to solve the problem of metadata-free, serverless messaging. Its 16-character addresses became a symbol of early-2010s cypherpunk DIY security. The string is a perfect example of such an address—likely generated by someone, somewhere, over a decade ago.
The exact breakdown of this specific string functions as follows: ie7h37c4qmu5ccza .onion \______________/ TorChat ID While old v2 hashes like ie7h37c4qmu5ccza are frequently
While later community forks might exist, 2.0-alpha-14 remains the most significant preview release. It was likely the version being developed just before the project's momentum slowed, making it a crucial reference point for anyone researching the software's final form.
The 16-character length of ie7h37c4qmu5ccza directly indicates its origin within the . While this classic architecture proved highly effective for years, it has largely been supplanted by newer protocols to address advancing computational threats. Architectural Feature Tor v2 (Legacy) Tor v3 (Current Standard) Address Length 16 characters (e.g., ie7h37c4qmu5ccza ) 56 characters Cryptographic Algorithm RSA-1024 and SHA-1 Ed25519 and SHA3-256 Directory Security Prone to minor enumeration risks Fully blinded directory service Signature Size Smaller packet footprint Larger, vastly more secure keys
The "14" suffix observed in some references (as in "Torchat ie7h37c4qmu5ccza 14") may indicate either a version reference (perhaps to the 2.0-alpha-14 release) or a port number associated with the hidden service. TorChat used port 11009 by default for incoming connections, and this number sometimes appeared alongside user IDs in configuration contexts.
: While TorChat provides strong anonymity, its original development has largely ceased in favor of more modern decentralized messengers like Ricochet-Refresh or Briar.