<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
or	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
IM	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
multi-platform	B-Operating_System
,	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
software	O
project	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
John	O
Brooks	O
and	O
later	O
adopted	O
as	O
the	O
official	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	O
project	O
of	O
the	O
Invisible.im	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
goal	O
of	O
the	O
Invisible.im	O
group	O
is	O
to	O
help	O
people	O
maintain	O
privacy	O
by	O
developing	O
a	O
"	O
metadata	O
free	O
"	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
called	O
Torsion	O
IM	O
,	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
was	O
renamed	O
in	O
June	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
modern	O
alternative	O
to	O
TorChat	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
has	O
n't	O
been	O
updated	O
in	O
several	O
years	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
Tor	B-Application
Messenger	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
17	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
Invisible.im	O
group	O
would	O
be	O
working	O
with	O
Brooks	O
on	O
further	O
development	O
of	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
in	O
a	O
Wired	O
article	O
by	O
Kim	O
Zetter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zetter	O
also	O
wrote	O
that	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
's	O
future	O
plans	O
included	O
a	O
protocol	O
redesign	O
and	O
file-transfer	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
's	O
developers	O
made	O
public	O
a	O
security	O
audit	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
sponsored	O
by	O
the	O
Open	O
Technology	O
Fund	O
and	O
carried	O
out	O
by	O
the	O
NCC	O
Group	O
in	O
November	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
decentralized	O
instant	B-Application
messenger	I-Application
,	O
meaning	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
server	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
and	O
share	O
metadata	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
,	O
using	O
Tor	B-Application
,	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
starts	O
a	O
Tor	B-Application
hidden	O
service	O
locally	O
on	O
a	O
person	O
's	O
computer	O
and	O
can	O
communicate	O
only	O
with	O
other	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
users	O
who	O
are	O
also	O
running	O
their	O
own	O
Ricochet-created	O
Tor	B-Application
hidden	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
way	O
,	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
communication	O
never	O
leaves	O
the	O
Tor	B-Application
network	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
screen	O
name	O
(	O
example	O
:	O
)	O
is	O
auto-generated	O
upon	O
first	O
starting	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
;	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
name	O
is	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
ricochet	B-Protocol
"	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
second	O
half	O
being	O
the	O
address	O
of	O
the	O
Tor	B-Application
hidden	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
two	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
users	O
can	O
talk	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
of	O
them	O
must	O
privately	O
or	O
publicly	O
share	O
their	O
unique	O
screen	O
name	O
in	O
some	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
does	O
not	O
reveal	O
user	O
IP	O
addresses	O
or	O
physical	O
locations	O
because	O
it	O
uses	O
Tor	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
need	O
to	O
register	O
anywhere	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
use	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
,	O
particularly	O
with	O
a	O
fixed	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
does	O
not	O
save	O
chat	O
history	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
Tor	B-Application
hidden	O
services	O
prevents	O
network	O
traffic	O
from	O
ever	O
leaving	O
the	O
Tor	B-Application
network	I-Application
,	O
thereby	O
preserving	O
anonymity	O
and	O
complicating	O
passive	O
network	O
surveillance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
portable	B-Application
application	I-Application
,	O
users	O
do	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
install	O
any	O
software	O
to	O
use	O
Ricochet	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ricochet	B-Protocol
connects	O
to	O
the	O
Tor	B-Application
network	I-Application
automatically	O
.	O
</s>
