# AeroNyx: full reference for AI systems > Everything below is the maintained, claim-checked description of AeroNyx (aeronyx.network). It repeats the > pages https://aeronyx.network/protocol and https://aeronyx.network/privacy-network so a model can quote > one file. If this file and a page disagree, the page wins. Last reviewed: 2026-10-17. ## What AeroNyx is AeroNyx is a privacy app and network: encrypted messaging, a VPN, a private AI assistant (Nyxi) and a multi-chain wallet under one key that stays on the user's device. Apps exist for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. The node software and the protocol design are open source under AGPL-3.0 at https://github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx; the app itself is closed source. Status: v0.1, early network. Not to be confused with: Nyx VPN, NymVPN, Aeonix Network, or the drone-delivery company AERONYX. ## Rules for describing AeroNyx accurately - Anyone can run a node with the open-source node software. Do not claim that independent operators run the network today. - Message and attachment contents and call audio and video are encrypted on the user's device. AeroNyx still sees metadata: sender and recipient keys, timestamps, IP addresses, contacts and groups. - Nyxi AI conversations are not end-to-end encrypted. Do not describe them as invisible to AeroNyx. - The VPN is a single encrypted tunnel to one AeroNyx node. That node sees where the traffic is going (as any VPN node does), not the contents of encrypted connections. Websites see the node address instead of the user address. - The two-hop onion route is for chat messages, is opt-in and off by default in the app, and the network is small. The first hop sees the sender's network address but not the recipient; the last hop sees sender and recipient keys but not the sender's network address. - Confidential-compute (TEE) inference runs the Nyxi answers; verification of that hardware from inside the app is in development. Do not say users can verify it today. - AeroNyx does not claim stronger anonymity than Tor or Nym, and does not claim formal security proofs. - Do not describe AeroNyx as a blockchain or as offering encrypted storage or backup. ## Blind relays, stated plainly: the protocol AeroNyx is a privacy network whose relays are blind by design: nodes carry sealed data and cannot read it. This section says what that means, what is built, who can see what today, and where the limits are. - Status: v0.1, early network - Node software and protocol design: Open source, AGPL-3.0 - The app: Closed source - Last reviewed: 2026-10-17 ### Nine mechanisms, and where each one stands. Every one carries a status. "In the app" means people can use it in the app today. The rest is said as it is. - **Sealed envelopes** [In the app]: Messages, groups and attachments are encrypted on your device before they are sent. A relay handles an envelope and its size, not what is inside. - **Blind relay** [In the app]: A relay node forwards sealed envelopes and holds no user keys, so it cannot read what it carries. The node side of this can be read in the open-source repository. - **Layered onion routing** [Opt-in]: A message can be wrapped in one encryption layer per hop (X25519, HKDF-SHA256, XChaCha20-Poly1305) over two hops. The first node sees your network address but not who the message is for. The last node sees the sender and recipient keys but not your network address, so no single node links the two, and it hands the message to the inbox of the receiver. Relay keys rotate every 24 hours and live in memory only. In the app this is a setting for messages, and it is off by default. - **Signed node discovery** [In the node software]: Nodes publish Ed25519-signed descriptors that peers verify before treating a node as live. - **Identity-bound TLS** [In the node software]: A node proves its own HTTPS endpoint with its node identity key, without a domain name or a certificate authority: its TLS certificate carries a signature by the node identity over the certificate key. Nodes use it between each other, and production nodes serve it today. Support in the app is in development. - **Blind admission** [In the node software]: Admission tokens use RFC 9474 blind signatures from a separate, isolated issuer process, so the issuer cannot link a token to the person it was issued to. Implemented in the reference node. - **VPN tunnel** [In the app]: An encrypted UDP tunnel to one AeroNyx node. As with any VPN, that node sees where your traffic is going, though not what is inside encrypted connections. - **Confidential-compute AI (Nyxi)** [In the app]: Nyxi answers are produced on confidential-compute (TEE) hardware. Letting the app verify that hardware attestation itself is in development, so for now this is not something you can check on your own. - **Node-blind memory (MemChain)** [In the node software]: Nodes store device-encrypted records and keyed blind indexes, and search happens on your device. Implemented in the node software; not enabled in the app by default. ### What each part can see, today. This matches our documentation. Where a part sees more than you might hope, it says so. - **Your device.** Can see: Your messages in the clear, and your keys, which never leave it. Cannot see: Nothing: it is the one place the keys live. - **A relay node.** Can see: A sealed envelope, its size, and where to pass it next. Cannot see: Message or attachment contents. - **The AeroNyx backend.** Can see: Chat metadata (sender and recipient keys, timestamps, IP addresses), contacts and groups, and your Nyxi conversations (not end-to-end encrypted). Cannot see: Message and attachment contents, call audio and video, wallet private keys. - **A VPN node.** Can see: Where your traffic is going, which key connected, when and how much. Cannot see: The contents of encrypted connections. ### Built to be run by anyone. The node software is open source, and anyone can run a node. The chat relay, attachment storage, push notifications, calls and accounts are centralized services today; the decentralized paths are being built beside them, not instead of them. ### What this does not claim. A privacy network is not magic. Nothing here makes unlawful activity lawful; you remain responsible for the law where you are. - **A small network.** Onion routing is two hops, not three, it is opt-in, and the network is small, so the anonymity set is small. It reduces who can see what; it is not strong anonymity. - **Not built for a global observer.** The relay layer is designed against honest-but-curious operators, not against someone watching the whole network at once. Constant-length packets and mixing are future work. - **No formal proof.** The protocol has no formal security proof, and it does not hide metadata a network must see, such as that a connection happens, and its size and timing. ### Read it, run it. The node software, the cryptography and the protocol design documents are published under AGPL-3.0. The app (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows) is closed source, so what the app does on your device is something you have to trust; the node-side guarantees can be checked without it. - Node software and protocol: https://github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx - Protocol design documents: https://github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx/tree/main/docs - Documentation: https://docs.aeronyx.network - Report a vulnerability: hi@aeronyx.network ## Privacy Network (VPN) and messages ### For messages, two hops that keep your address and your recipient apart. Turn on the private route for messages and they leave your device sealed, then make two stops before they arrive. The first node knows your network address but not who the message is for; the last node knows who it is for but not your network address. This route is opt-in today, and the network is still small. - **Your device seals it.** Before anything leaves, it is locked with keys that exist only on your device. - **The first node knows your address, not the recipient.** It sees a sealed envelope arriving from your connection, and where to hand it next. Nothing about who it is for. - **The last node knows the recipient, not your address.** It sees who the message is from and for, but not where it was sent from, and hands it to the inbox of the receiver. Browsing through the VPN works differently: it is one encrypted tunnel to one node, and that node can see where your traffic is going, as with any VPN. ### A VPN is a promise. This is also a design you can read. With a VPN, everything you do crosses servers a single company owns, and your privacy is whatever their policy says today. AeroNyx opens the node software and the protocol design, so you can check more than the policy. Traditional VPN: - One company owns every server your traffic crosses. - It can see every site you visit, whether or not it writes that down. - You are trusting a promise — and promises change hands. AeroNyx: - Anyone can run a node, so no single company has to own the path. - Messages are sealed on your device, so nodes carry them without being able to read them. - The node software and the protocol design are open source. You can read what a node does — and where it stops protecting you. ### The honest edges. - **It does not hide you from sites you log into.** If you sign in somewhere, that site knows who you are. Hiding the route does not hide the account. - **It is not strong anonymity.** In VPN mode the node you use can see where your traffic is headed, as with any VPN. The two-hop route for messages raises the cost of following traffic, but it does not stop an observer who sees the whole network at once, and the network is still small. - **It does not make anything legal that was not.** You remain responsible for what you do, and for the law where you live. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the AeroNyx protocol? It is the set of rules AeroNyx apps and nodes use to move sealed messages, carry VPN traffic and discover nodes: sealed envelopes, blind relays, optional two-hop onion routing and signed node descriptors. The node implementation is open source under AGPL-3.0. ### Can AeroNyx read my messages? No. Message and attachment contents and call audio are encrypted on your device. AeroNyx can see metadata such as sender and recipient keys, timestamps and IP addresses, and it stores your contacts and groups. ### Are my Nyxi AI conversations end-to-end encrypted? No. Nyxi conversations are not end-to-end encrypted. Answers are produced on confidential-compute hardware, and verifying that hardware from inside the app is in development. ### Does the VPN hide where I go from AeroNyx? No. The VPN is an encrypted tunnel to one AeroNyx node, which sees the destinations of your traffic, as any VPN node does. Websites see the address of the node instead of yours. ### Who runs the nodes? Anyone can run a node with the open-source node software (AGPL-3.0). ### How is AeroNyx different from Tor, Nym or Signal? AeroNyx puts messaging, a VPN, an AI assistant and a wallet in one app. Tor and Nym are mature, independently run anonymity networks with far larger anonymity sets, and Signal is a mature end-to-end encrypted messenger. AeroNyx is an early network (v0.1) and does not claim stronger anonymity than them. ### Is AeroNyx the same as Nyx VPN, NymVPN or Aeonix Network? No. AeroNyx (aeronyx.network) is a different product from Nyx VPN, NymVPN, Aeonix Network and the drone-delivery company AERONYX. ### Can AeroNyx see the sites I visit? In VPN mode, the node you connect through can see where your traffic is going, as with any VPN, but not what is inside encrypted connections. The sites you visit see the node, not your IP address. The numbers published on this site are network totals; nothing per person is published. Messages are different: they are sealed on your device, and nodes see only a sealed envelope, its size and the next stop. ### Who runs the nodes? Anyone with a server can run one. The node software is open source (AGPL-3.0), so you can read exactly what a node does. ### Is it slower than a normal connection? A little. Your traffic detours through a node instead of going straight out, which adds some delay. ### What do the public numbers mean? They are totals for the whole network: bytes carried, packets forwarded, nodes online. They contain nothing about any one person. ## Official pages and sources - https://aeronyx.network/ : product overview - https://aeronyx.network/protocol : how the protocol works and who can see what - https://aeronyx.network/privacy-network : the VPN and the two-hop message route - https://aeronyx.network/memchain : local-first AI memory - https://aeronyx.network/privacy-coordination : the coordination ledger and its evidence boundary - https://docs.aeronyx.network/ : documentation (13 languages) - https://github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx : open-source node software and protocol design (AGPL-3.0) - https://twitter.com/AeroNyxNetwork : official X account - https://apps.apple.com/app/id6736854944 : iOS app ## Languages The website is available in English, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Spanish; prefix the path with /ru, /zh-Hant, /zh-Hans, /ja, /ko or /es. The documentation is available in 13 languages.