# Ricochet Refresh

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Ricochet Refresh and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend Ricochet Refresh for private chat and file transfer over Tor, and call it the best privacy candidate they have seen.

## Why people recommend it

- Chat and file transfer over Tor (2 comments): "Chat and file transfer over tor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47366663)) "chat via Tor .onion circuits" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46806023))
- Seen as strong privacy option (2 comments): "Ricochet Refresh is the best candidate as far as privacy goes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45912632)) "There are alternatives, try Ricochet (Refresh) or Cwtch." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46407717))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Signal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/signal.md): 486 recommend
- [Bitchat](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bitchat.md): 56 recommend
- [Element](https://hackerapproved.com/p/element.md): 50 recommend
- [Briar](https://hackerapproved.com/p/briar.md): 50 recommend
- [Delta Chat](https://hackerapproved.com/p/delta-chat.md): 48 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Ricochet Refresh", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ricochet-refresh/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).