A 2-minute start
The internet's escape hatch from platforms. You own your identity — and no company can ban you, shadow-ban you, or switch you off. Here's the idea, the best apps, and how to get going.
Get started →Nostr is a protocol, not a platform. That one word changes everything. Twitter, Instagram and the rest are platforms — private companies that own your account, your followers, and the off-switch. Nostr is more like email or the web: an open standard that nobody owns, that any app can speak.
Your identity isn't an account in someone's database — it's a cryptographic key that you hold. Your posts, your follows and your name travel with that key across every Nostr app. Don't like one app? Switch — and bring everything with you. No re-following, no starting over.
Because no single company is in charge, there's no one to deplatform you. That's the whole point: your voice, your audience, and your money stay yours.
That's genuinely all the jargon you need to begin.
An npub is your public handle (share it freely). An nsec is your secret key — it's your master password. Never share your nsec, and back it up. Lose it and the account is gone; leak it and someone owns your identity.
The servers that pass notes around. You choose which ones you use, and your app talks to several at once. No single relay — and no single owner — controls the network.
A human-readable name like whisper@btchushbox.com that proves an npub is really you — like a verified handle, but you control it on your own domain.
Tip real Bitcoin (sats) on any post with a tap, over the Lightning Network. Value flows peer-to-peer — no ads, no engagement farming, just sats for things worth sats.
From zero to posting in a few minutes.
Honest picks. Start with one — your identity works in all of them.
iOS · Android · Web. The slickest onboarding and the easiest way to find your people. (It has an optional Lightning wallet too, though availability varies by country.) If you try one thing, try this.
primal.net →iOS. The original native iOS app — polished, fast, and a favourite of the Nostr crowd.
damus.io →Android. The most powerful Android client — every Nostr feature you'll ever want, and then some.
get Amethyst →Android. Holds your key in a sandbox and signs you into apps & websites — so your nsec never touches a web page. The safe way to log in.
get Amber (APK) →Web. No install — open it, create a key, and explore Nostr straight from your browser.
nostrudel.ninja →Web signer. A dedicated keystore (like a password manager for Nostr) that signs you into sites over NIP-46.
nsec.app →These walk you through it step by step.
A friendly onboarding wizard — creates your keys, helps you back them up, and gets you following people. Great first stop.
nstart.me →Explore Nostr posts and profiles right from the web — no app needed to look around.
njump.me →Once you're in
Follow @HushBox — whisper@btchushbox.com — for sovereign tech, Lightning, and the next thing out of the workshop.
