Ricochet is a peer-to-peer instant messaging system built on the Tor Network hidden services. Your login is your hidden service address, and contacts connect to you (not an intermediate server) through Tor. The rendezvous system makes it extremely hard for anyone to learn your identity from your address.
Publisher’s description
What is Ricochet?
Ricochet by RicochetIM is proprietary Windows software in the chat & messaging category. It ranks 37th by popularity among chat & messaging in this catalogue. It is written in C++.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 32-bit Windows. It can be installed for the current user only, without administrator rights. It needs Windows 10 or newer. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 1,135 times. The source code on GitHub (ricochet-im/ricochet) has 3,920 stars. Similar programs include Signal, Telegram Desktop and Discord.
Project description on GitHub: “Anonymous peer-to-peer instant messaging”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Documented silent install
- Installs without administrator rights
Cons
- Proprietary licence: check the terms and price
- No native ARM64 build
- 32-bit only
- No update for more than a year
In short: Ricochet is a chat & messaging tool for 32-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Ricochet safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
9096F058B8471CA7B1204D1ACB34114E497B07902EB7811FC414D52B45B7DB59· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the ricochet-im/ricochet repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared9
- Code review6
- Actively maintained0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
- Security policy0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 1 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.4.0Latest | June 8, 2021 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id RicochetIM.Ricochet -echoco install ricochet -yricochet-1.1.4-win-install.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- RicochetIM
- Category
- Chat & messaging
- Licence
- Copyright (c) 2014-2016, John Brookshet (john.brooks@dereferenced.net)
- Price
- See the publisher’s site
- Source code
- github.com/ricochet-im/ricochet
- Written in
- C++
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10 (Windows 10+)
- Architecture
- 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Version
- 1.1.4.0
- Released
- June 8, 2021
- Added to the catalogue
- June 8, 2021
- Versions listed
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 1,135
- GitHub stars
- 3,920
- GitHub forks
- 435
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- RicochetIM.Ricochet
- Chocolatey package
- ricochet
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Ricochet
See all ›-
Open source3.4M ↓ -
Telegram Desktop7.3.3A cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app with a focus on security and speed.Open source1M ↓ -
Proprietary882.4K ↓ -
Proprietary9.8M ↓ -
Rocket.Chat4.18.5Rocket.Chat is the leading open source team chat software solution. Free, unlimited and completely customizable with on-premises and SaaS cloud hosting.Open source973K ↓ -
Proprietary259.3K ↓ -
Open source97.4K ↓ -
Mumble (client)1.5.939Low-latency and high quality voice chat primarily intended for use while gaming.Open source49.9K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is Ricochet free?
Ricochet is proprietary (closed-source) software (licence: Copyright (c) 2014-2016, John Brookshet (john.brooks@dereferenced.net)). Whether it costs money depends on the edition: check the publisher’s site for prices and free tiers.
Is Ricochet safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Ricochet with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Ricochet be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Which Windows versions does Ricochet support?
The installer requires Windows 10 or newer and is available for 32-bit.
Does Ricochet run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 32-bit version through emulation.
Can I use Ricochet without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to Ricochet?
Signal, Telegram Desktop, Discord, Slack and Rocket.Chat. The alternatives page compares them.
