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Sources and journalists

Some conversations should begin privately.

The first contact with a source is the most fragile part of a story. Before there's any trust, asking someone for a phone number or an email already asks them to put their name on the line. Satori lets that first conversation happen with neither side giving away who they are.

Satori campaign image: a journalist taking notes across from a source, beside a phone showing their conversation, with the headline Some conversations should begin privately.

The usual way

What you give away.

Most first contact leaves a trail long before anything sensitive is said.

  • 01

    Contact details identify people

    A phone number or a work email can lead straight back to a source, even if the messages themselves are never read.

  • 02

    Accounts outlive the story

    Social and messaging accounts stay linked to a real person for years after the conversation is over.

  • 03

    Trust takes time to build

    Sources often want to test the water first. Asking for their details up front can end the conversation before it starts.

How Satori helps

Talk first. Share later.

  • No personal details on either side

    Neither of you needs a phone number, an email or an account. A Satori ID is all the other person sees.

  • An inbox link you can publish

    Share your Satori ID or invite link where sources can find it, so they can reach you first, on their terms.

  • Verify before anything sensitive

    Compare safety numbers through a channel you already trust before the conversation goes further.

  • Keys stay on the device

    Messages are encrypted on each phone. Satori's servers only pass along text they can't read.

backQuietSource7113verify
  1. QuietSource7113:Are you free to talk briefly?
  2. You:Yes. Share only what you're comfortable with.
  3. QuietSource7113:I have some details that may help verify the information.
  4. You:Let's take it one step at a time.

end-to-end encrypted

Example Satori conversation with QuietSource7113

example conversation

Getting started

Four steps.

  1. 1

    Publish your Satori ID

    Put your ID or invite link on your profile, your byline or your tips page so sources can start the conversation.

  2. 2

    Let the source go first

    They open Satori in a browser, get an ID of their own and message you. Nobody asks who they are.

  3. 3

    Verify the connection

    Compare safety numbers over a call or in person before anything sensitive is shared.

  4. 4

    Close it when the story is done

    Revoke access once the conversation has served its purpose.

Good to know

The honest part.

What Satori does well, and where you still need to look after yourself.

  • Satori encrypts what you say. It doesn't yet hide when you talk or which IDs talk to each other from its own servers.

  • Anyone with access to an unlocked phone can read the conversations on it. Lock your device and keep your recovery phrase offline.

  • If exposure could put someone in danger, don't rely on any single app, Satori included. Follow your organisation's source protection guidance.

Start in your browser

Talk first.Reveal less.

Open Satori, get your ID and send it to the one person you want to talk to. On iPhone, tap Share and then Add to Home Screen so Satori is always one tap away.

A phone showing an encrypted Satori chat beside a glass panel that reads Satori ID 4KZF-ED76, status verified, connection encrypted.
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