Olvid
A single roll-up of ownership and CLOUD Act exposure.
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EU-Sovereign EU/EEA/Switzerland-owned and -operated, with no identified CLOUD Act exposure.
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EU-Based This listing EU-operated, with at most minor or transient US exposure.
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EU-Hosted EU hosting available, but a US parent or hyperscaler sub-processor creates material exposure.
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US-Linked Operated by a US-incorporated entity, directly subject to US jurisdiction.
French E2EE messenger (Olvid SAS, Paris, founded 2019), ANSSI CSPN certified, mandated for French government ministers; no phone number/identifier, content + metadata encrypted.
Olvid is a European service hosted in France, with at most minor, transient US exposure under the CLOUD Act. It is listed under Video conferencing.
Assessment notes
Olvid SAS (26 rue Vignon, 75009 Paris; SIREN 850 667 171; founded 2019 by four founders incl. two cryptography PhDs) is the only messaging app certified ANSSI CSPN (iOS 2020, Android 2021, audited by Synacktiv with public reports) and was mandated by the French Prime Minister's Nov 2023 circular for government ministers and cabinets, replacing WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram from Dec 2023. Both message content and metadata are end-to-end encrypted; no phone number, email or identifier is required, and Olvid's servers cannot determine who talks to whom, a stronger metadata posture than Signal or WhatsApp. EU-owned French SAS, founder-controlled, no US capital on record; open source (AGPL-3.0) including the server. The one gap that holds this below a 5: core infrastructure runs on AWS (a US provider), so cloud_act_exposure: minor applies at the host level even though the zero-knowledge design means the host never sees plaintext or metadata; there is also no standalone published DPA/sub-processor page. No SecNumCloud: Olvid argues it is less relevant for a zero-knowledge service.
Findings
- CLOUD Act
- CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor This listing A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
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- Ownership
- Ownership
Where ultimate control over the operating company sits.
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EU-owned This listing EU-incorporated and EU-controlled; no significant US ownership.
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EU HQ, US-funded EU-headquartered but US venture- or PE-controlled.
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EU subsidiary, US parent European operating company owned by a US parent company.
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US-owned The operating company itself is US-headquartered.
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Other A non-EU jurisdiction. Swiss/EEA-owned vendors count as European here; the UK and others do not.
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- Sub-processors
- — not disclosed
Verified signals
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EU / adequacy hosting: Yes
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EU / adequacy operator: Yes
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No US CLOUD Act exposure: Not assessed
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Public DPA: No
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Sub-processors disclosed: No
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Open-source clients: Yes
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Third-party certification: No
Jump to
About Olvid
Olvid is a French end-to-end encrypted messaging application developed by Olvid SAS (26 rue Vignon, 75009 Paris; SIREN 850 667 171), founded in 2019 by a four-person team including two PhD cryptographers, Thomas Baignères (CEO) and Matthieu Finiasz (CTO). It is best known as the only messenger to hold France's ANSSI CSPN (Certification de Sécurité de Premier Niveau), obtained for iOS in 2020 and Android in 2021 following technical audits by Synacktiv, whose evaluation reports are published openly, and as the messenger mandated by the French Prime Minister in a November 2023 circular for ministers and ministerial cabinets, replacing WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram from December 2023.
The architecture is unusual even among privacy messengers. Olvid requires no phone number, no email, and no identifier of any kind: users connect by exchanging cryptographic identities (typically a QR-code scan or invitation link), and Olvid maintains no central directory of users. Both the content and the metadata of every message are end-to-end encrypted, using a custom protocol with forward secrecy via single-use ephemeral keys (formally validated academically by Michel Abdalla, ENS/CNRS). Because the server holds no decryptable data and plays no role in the security model, it cannot determine who is communicating with whom, closing the metadata gap that even Signal leaves partially open. The clients and the message-distribution server are open source on GitHub under AGPL-3.0.
The product is freemium and three-tier. Free covers all core consumer messaging (unlimited messages, attachments, groups, ephemeral messages, multi-profile, Olvid Web, inbound calls) on iOS, Android, Windows and Linux. Business (€9.90/user/month, billed annually) adds outbound calls, multi-device and license management. Enterprise (€9.90/user/month plus a flat annual platform fee) adds a Management Console, SSO, central user/group management, instant revocation, MDM deployment and Olvid Bots. There is no self-hosted/on-prem edition. The principal sovereignty caveat for a strict procurement reviewer is that the backend runs on AWS (a US provider), so US CLOUD Act jurisdiction reaches the infrastructure layer even though the zero-knowledge design means the host never sees message content or metadata. Best fit: French and EU public-sector buyers and regulated organisations that want a government-grade, ANSSI-certified WhatsApp/Signal replacement with the strongest available metadata privacy; privacy-conscious individuals who want a messenger with no identifier at all.
Sub-processor map · not disclosed
Frameworks & certifications · none listed
Capability matrix
Table 1Capabilities of Olvid
Integration & access
Compliance & governance
Pricing & tiers
Public documents
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missingData Processing Addendum (DPA)— missing
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missingSub-processors list— missing
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OpenTerms of Serviceolvid.io/terms…
Alternatives in this category
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United KingdomEU-HostedCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material This listing US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: Yes Sub-processors: Yes Open source: Yes -
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SwitzerlandEU-SovereignCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: Yes Sub-processors: Yes Open source: No -
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NorwayEU-HostedCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material This listing US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: Yes Sub-processors: Yes Open source: No -
| Product | Sovereignty | CLOUD Act | Signals | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Element (Matrix)
United Kingdom
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EU-Hosted | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: Yes
Sub-processors: Yes
Open source: Yes
|
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kMeet (Infomaniak)
Switzerland
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EU-Sovereign | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: Yes
Sub-processors: Yes
Open source: No
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| Pexip Norway | EU-Hosted | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: Yes
Sub-processors: Yes
Open source: No
|
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