What is AeroNyx: Encrypted Chat, VPN, AI and Open-Source Nodes

AeroNyx is a privacy app and an open-source node network. The AeroNyx App combines end-to-end encrypted chat, a privacy network (VPN), the Nyxi AI assistant and a multi-chain wallet. The AeroNyx network is node software, licensed under AGPL-3.0, that carries VPN traffic and encrypted chat. Today AeroNyx operates the central services and every production node. This page explains what each part does and what AeroNyx can and cannot see.

The AeroNyx App

The app runs on iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. The app itself is closed source.

Feature	What it does
Chat	One-to-one and group messages, encrypted on your device before they are sent. Your chat identity is a key pair that your device creates. AeroNyx never receives your private key.
Attachments	Photos, videos, voice messages and files are encrypted on your device with a separate key for each file. Storage only receives the encrypted file.
Calls	Voice and video calls. The audio and video are encrypted end to end before they leave your device.
Privacy network (VPN)	Sends your device's internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to an AeroNyx node, which then sends it on to the internet.
Nyxi	An AI assistant. It runs AI models on Phala's confidential-computing (TEE) service. Its optional memory is stored on your device.
Wallet	A self-custody wallet for several blockchains. Your keys are stored encrypted on your device.
Membership	You pay for membership plans with points, and AI usage is also charged in points. You buy points with USDT on the web. The app has no in-app purchases.

Your wallet identity and your chat identities are separate. Your wallet holds your assets and your membership. Each chat identity is its own key pair, so contacts see your chat key, not your wallet address.

The AeroNyx network

The node software is open source at github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx under the GNU AGPL-3.0. Anyone can read the code, review it and run it. A node can take these roles:

VPN gateway. It ends the encrypted tunnel from the app and forwards your traffic to the internet.
Encrypted chat relay. It forwards chat messages that are already encrypted. With an optional two-hop onion route, the message is wrapped in one encryption layer per node. Each node can remove only its own layer and learns only the next hop.
Anonymous mailboxes. A node can hold sealed messages without learning who they belong to. This is in production on the nodes, but the app does not use it yet.
Confidential node. One node runs inside a Phala Cloud trusted execution environment (Intel TDX). It runs only the onion relay and mailbox roles, with no VPN.

The nodes and the AeroNyx backend publish aggregate statistics, never per-user data. You can read them at GET https://api.aeronyx.network/api/privacy_network/vpn/public/network-stats/.

What AeroNyx can and cannot see

"AeroNyx" here means the company's central services and the production nodes it operates.

Data	Can AeroNyx see it?
Content of chat messages, group messages and attachments	No. They are encrypted on your device, and AeroNyx does not hold the keys.
Chat metadata on the central relay	Yes. This includes sender and recipient public keys, group IDs, message timestamps and sizes, delivery and read state, presence and typing signals, and connection IP addresses.
Your contact list and groups	Yes. The central relay stores your contacts' public keys and the nicknames and notes you give them, plus group names and member lists. None of this is encrypted.
Audio and video of calls	No. Frames are encrypted end to end. The AeroNyx call server still sees who is in a call and when.
Websites and apps you reach through the VPN	The exit node can. Like any VPN server, it sees the IP addresses you connect to and handles your DNS lookups. HTTPS still hides the content of pages.
Your VPN sessions	Partly. The backend keeps a record of each session: node, client key, bytes, start and end times, and a hashed IP address. The app connects with a blind-signed voucher and a throwaway client key, so the session record does not name your account.
Nyxi AI conversations	Yes. Conversations pass through the AeroNyx backend, which stores them. They are not end-to-end encrypted. Model inference runs on Phala's confidential-computing service.
Nyxi memory	Off by default. When it is on, memories are stored on your device first. Creating a memory sends the conversation text to the AI backend. A sealed copy can go to a node only while the VPN is connected.
Wallet private keys and recovery phrase	No. They are stored encrypted on your device and never sent to AeroNyx.
Wallet addresses and balance lookups	Yes. Blockchain queries and already-signed transactions go through an AeroNyx proxy, which can see which addresses you query.
Account, membership and points	Yes. AeroNyx needs these to provide paid features.

For how long records are kept and how legal requests are handled, see the AeroNyx Trust Center.

What runs centrally today

AeroNyx runs both central services and a decentralized node network. Both are in use, and the decentralized paths do not replace the central ones. Today these parts are central:

Chat relay (RelayWS). It delivers chat messages and holds an offline queue. It also stores contact lists, group membership and profiles. Messages go through it unless you turn on the privacy route.
Attachment storage. Encrypted files are stored on Cloudflare R2, using short-lived upload and download links that the backend issues.
Push notifications. These are sent through Apple Push Notification service (APNs) on iOS and macOS. Android has no push notifications. It receives messages over the app's WebSocket connection.
Calls. Call signalling and the media server are run by AeroNyx.
AI backend. It handles Nyxi requests, stores conversations, charges points and sends inference to Phala.
Accounts and payments. This covers membership, points, USDT payments and VPN voucher issuance.
Node directory and statistics. This includes the node list, node registration and the public statistics API.
Nodes. AeroNyx operates every production node. No independent operator runs a production node today.

The signed commitment ledger for MemChain is frozen. It has produced no new blocks since July 2026, and its only coordinator node has since been decommissioned.

Frequently asked questions

Is AeroNyx open source?

The node software is open source and the app is not. The node software is published under the GNU AGPL-3.0 at github.com/AeroNyxNetwork/AeroNyx. The AeroNyx App for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows is closed source. This means the node-side guarantees can be reviewed publicly, but what the app does on your device cannot.

Can AeroNyx read my chat messages?

No, AeroNyx cannot read the content of your chat messages or attachments. They are encrypted on your device, and AeroNyx does not hold the keys. The central relay still sees delivery metadata, such as who sends to whom and when, and stores your contact list and group membership.

Are Nyxi AI conversations private from AeroNyx?

No. Nyxi conversations pass through the AeroNyx backend and are stored there. They are not end-to-end encrypted. Model inference runs on Phala's confidential-computing service, but that does not hide conversations from the AeroNyx backend.

Is AeroNyx decentralized?

Partly. The node software is open source and the chat can use an optional two-hop route through nodes. However, the chat relay, attachment storage, push notifications, AI backend and accounts are central services, and AeroNyx operates every production node today.

Does the AeroNyx VPN hide my browsing from the VPN server?

No. Like any VPN, the exit node sees the IP addresses you connect to and handles your DNS lookups. HTTPS still protects the content of pages. The difference from a typical VPN lies elsewhere: the node software is open source, and the app connects with blind-signed access vouchers.

What is AeroNyx