Ventra Link 0.8.3

What's new

New

• Pinned chats as pictures. Pinned chats now sit at the top of your chat list as a row of pictures, like iMessage, with unread counts and who's online or typing. Three or four fit across, depending on the sidebar's width.
• See when it was delivered and read. Hover Delivered or Read under your message to see exactly when. It follows your read receipts setting: with read receipts off, contacts can't see when your devices got their messages or when you read them.
• Keyboard shortcuts in one place. Press ⌘/ (Ctrl+/ on Windows and Linux), or search for Keyboard shortcuts with ⌘K, to see them all.
• Jump to unread. When a chat opens with new messages above the screen, a button shows how many there are and takes you back to where you left off.
• Volume for each person in voice. Right-click anyone's video or picture in a voice channel for the same menu as their name in the sidebar. While someone shares their screen, set their voice and their shared screen's volume separately.
• Turn down a shared screen. Right-click someone's shared screen in a call or voice channel to set how loud its sound plays.

Improved

• Read receipts arrive sooner. Read now reaches people even when you aren't directly connected to them, instead of waiting until you are.
• Replying counts as reading. Replying or reacting to a chat, including from a notification, marks it as read for you and for them.
• Smoother reactions. Reactions pop in with a gentle bounce, and the space above a message opens smoothly for its first reaction instead of jumping.
• Mesh buttons always fit. Notifications, Invite and Settings in the mesh sidebar are now equal tiles that fit however narrow the sidebar is.

Fixed

• Messages could disappear from one of your devices after it synced with another. Clearing a chat on one device now only removes the messages that were there at the time, even if the news reaches your other devices late.
• Your phone no longer buzzes for every message while you're using your computer. It's notified once your computer has been idle for about a minute, or is off.
• Your messages could stay on Delivered after someone had read them, or even reacted to them.
• Sharing a 5K screen, such as a Studio Display, with someone on a PC without HEVC support showed them nothing. It now reaches them at up to 4K.
• When you shared your screen, a frozen picture of the person from your previous video call could appear in the new call.

Windows

• The top corner of the window shows Ventra Link next to the icon, as on Mac.
• The yellow border Windows draws around a shared screen now goes away after a few seconds, instead of staying for the whole share.

iPhone and iPad

These changes come with the next iPhone and iPad update:

• Pinned chats as a row of pictures at the top of your chats, with unread counts and typing.
• Long-press a message you sent to see when it was delivered and read.
• React to GIFs, and smoother reaction animations.
• The fixes above for messages between your devices, notifications and read status.

Android (in testing)

• Pinned chats as pictures, delivered and read times, reactions on GIFs and smoother reactions, as on iPhone.
• The same fixes for messages between your devices, notifications and read status.

Other

• Some of these need 0.8.3 on both ends: delivered and read times, read receipts that arrive while you're not connected, and the safer chat clearing between your devices. Older versions keep working.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.8.2

What's new

New

• Mute for a while. Mute a chat, group chat or mesh for 1 hour, 8 hours or until tomorrow morning, or until you turn it back on. It lifts by itself on all your devices, even if the one you set it on is off. A mesh goes back to the notifications it had before.
• Select part of a message. Drag across any message to select some of its text and copy it with ⌘C or Ctrl+C. Double-click selects a word and triple-click a line. Right-click Copy copies just your selection.
• Answer calls on a Mac in one click. When a call comes in while Ventra Link is in the background, a small window appears with Answer, Decline and Answer with video, and turns into the mini call window once you answer.
• Right-click a mesh in the sidebar, or a group chat in your chat list, to mark it read, mute it, change its notifications, invite people, open its settings or leave it.
• Member cards have buttons to message, call, video call or @mention someone, plus a More menu. They also show their status, a shield if you've verified them, and when they joined the mesh.
• Contact cards show when someone has been on Ventra Link since (once they've linked a second device) and when they became your contact.
• Ventra Link remembers where you left its window: the same size, place and display next time it opens.

Improved

• Smarter ringing. Your phone stays quiet while you're using your computer, and joins in after a few seconds if you don't answer there. Answering or declining on one device now stops the others ringing, even when the caller can't reach them.
• Message bubbles look like iMessage now: fully rounded, with a tail on the last message of each run. Reactions are frosted glass with a soft edge instead of a hard outline.
• Hovering and selecting is much easier to see in light and dark mode. Menu rows light up in the accent colour, settings choices show clearly which one is picked, and right-click menus have icons.
• The members list in a mesh is grouped by role, names use their role's colour, and the owner sits at the top of the highest role. A voice icon shows who's in a voice channel and whether they're muted.
• The mesh sidebar shows the mesh's picture and full name (no more cut-off names), with labelled Notifications, Invite and Settings buttons.
• Role colours: more colours to pick from, plus any colour of your own with a hex code or the colour strip.
• More role permissions: pinning messages, plus joining, talking, camera, screen sharing, muting others and moving others in voice. Permissions you don't have yourself are greyed out.
• 1:1 chats have Shared media and Search buttons in the header. Right-click a contact in your chat list to call, see shared media, search, rename, verify and more.
• A clear "New" button next to the search field, with its shortcut, for adding someone or starting a chat.
• New to meshes? A short card in your chat list explains them and lets you create or join one.
• During a 1:1 call, its controls stay at the bottom of the sidebar the whole time, like a voice channel's.
• A call now moves the contact to the top of your chat list, and someone you've just added appears at the top while your request is pending.
• In mentions-only meshes, only mentions show a badge on the mesh. Channels still show their unread messages.
• Channel topics are limited to 160 characters (with a counter), and long ones no longer push the header buttons out of the window.
• "Connecting…" is now blue, so it can't be mistaken for away (orange).
• The window opens a little bigger the first time.

Fixed

• Declining a call shows as declined on your other devices, not missed.
• On iPhone, mentions-only meshes no longer notify you about every message after you change the setting on another device.
• The chat list could show chats slightly out of order when you had pinned chats.
• The iPhone badge now counts mentions the same way the desktop does.

Mac

• The menu bar icon turns into a green pill while you're in a call or voice channel.
• A subtle Ventra Link name and icon at the top of the chat list.

iPhone and iPad

These changes come with the next iPhone and iPad update:

• Set a custom status from Settings or by long-pressing your picture in the chats list. Contacts' statuses show in your chats, chat headers and contact cards.
• Shared media: browse photos and videos, files, links and voice messages from a chat, group chat or channel, and jump to any of them in the chat.
• Mute for 1 hour, 8 hours, until tomorrow morning or until you turn it back on. Notifications come back on time even if the app hasn't been opened.
• Long-press a mesh or group chat for Mark as read, Mute, Notifications, Invite, Settings and Leave.
• Member cards with Message, Call, Video, Mention and More, plus status, verified shield and join date. Members are grouped by role, with role colours and voice icons.
• "Select Text" in a message's menu to copy part of it.
• Custom role colours with the colour picker.
• Message bubbles with tails, and sender names in their role colour.

Android (in testing)

• Custom status, shared media, timed mutes, member cards, long-press menus for meshes and group chats, Select Text, custom role colours and the new bubbles, as on iPhone.
• A message that's still sending now fades as a whole, as on the other apps.

Other

• Some of these need 0.8.2 on all your devices to work fully: phones staying quiet while you're at your computer, stopping the ringing on your other devices, and timed mutes syncing. Older versions keep working.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.8.1

What's new

New

• Send later. Schedule a message from the composer with a preset like tomorrow morning, or pick a date and time. Scheduled messages wait above the composer, where you can edit them, send them now or cancel them. They're sent from the computer you scheduled them on, as soon as it's open.
• Custom status. Set an emoji and a few words, such as 🎮 Gaming, 🛋️ Chilling or 📅 In a meeting, and choose when it clears. Your contacts see it beside your name.
• Shared media. See every photo, video, file and link from a chat or channel in one place. Open it from the chat's menu or the channel header.
• Make chats yours. Pick a bubble color (Indigo, Ocean, Forest, Sunset, Rose or Graphite) and a chat background (Mist, Lavender, Sage or Dawn) in Settings.
• Call controls in the tray and menu bar. Mute, turn your camera on or off, deafen, pop out the call or hang up without opening the window. The menu also lists unread chats and has New Conversation, Settings and Restart to Update.

Improved

• Opening a chat with unread messages shows a "new messages" divider where you left off.
• New messages and reactions arrive with a gentle animation.
• Empty chats and lists explain what goes there, and new accounts get a short welcome card.

Fixed

• Read receipts no longer get stuck on "Delivered" when the other person's clock is a little ahead of yours.
• Your phone no longer gets notifications for messages you're already reading on your computer.
• Deleting a message or removing a contact while one of your devices was offline no longer brings them back once it catches up.
• Unlinking a passkey or deleting your account is no longer undone by another of your devices that hadn't caught up yet.

Security

These come from a review of the app and its service:

• A device now counts as part of an account only once it has shown it belongs. A contact or stranger can no longer send your messages somewhere else or cut your connection to other people.
• A channel manager who can't see a private channel can no longer make it public by deleting and recreating it.
• A member can no longer revoke everyone else's invite links, or stop a new member from receiving other people's messages.
• Meshes now hold up to 400 people, counting pending invites, so removing or banning someone always works.
• A file sent in one chat can no longer replace a file in another.
• GIF links are checked more strictly, so a crafted link can't reach your phone's IP address when Hide IP is on.
• More script file types (such as .pyz, .ahk and .ps2) are saved with Save As instead of opening directly.
• A small animated image with a huge canvas can no longer slow the app down.

Linux

• Notifications show the sender's picture, open the chat when clicked, and let you answer or decline calls. On KDE you can reply right from the notification.
• A tray icon with the same menu as Mac and Windows. On GNOME it needs the AppIndicator extension.
• Ventra Link keeps running in the background when you close the window. It can open at login, shows unread counts on the launcher icon, and shows you as away when you're idle.
• Video calls. Cameras now work in calls, in voice channels and in the Video settings.
• Video is encoded on the graphics card through VA-API (Intel and AMD) when your system supports it, and falls back to the processor otherwise.
• The mute shortcut works on X11.
• Notification buttons only respond to your desktop's notification service, and updates now download to your own folder instead of the shared temporary folder.

iPhone and iPad

These changes come with the next iPhone and iPad update:

• The screen stays on during calls instead of dimming, and turns off when you hold the phone to your ear.
• Video calls no longer make the phone warm after you switch apps, lock it or use picture in picture. Video pauses while it's hidden and goes back to the phone's video hardware when you return.

Android (in testing)

• Calls are much louder and clearer. Call audio now plays as a phone call, so the volume buttons control it and Android's echo and noise cancelling are on.
• The screen stays on during calls, and turns off when you hold the phone to your ear.
• Video pauses while the app is in the background and picks up again when you return.

Other

• Ventra Link's service now counts reports and new accounts toward each network's daily upload limit.
• Calls on any device that hits a video decoding problem now try the faster codec again a little later, instead of staying on the slower one for the rest of the call.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.8.0

What's new

New

• Voice messages. With nothing typed, the send button becomes a microphone: click it to record, up to five minutes. Send it straight away, or stop to listen back, scrub through it and then send or discard it. Voice messages play right in the chat with a waveform you can click to jump around, and work in 1:1 chats and mesh channels. Recording uses the same noise suppression as calls. People still on an older version get it as a "Voice message.ogg" file they can open.
• Pop out a call. A new button on the call card and the sidebar call dock moves the call into a small window that stays above your other apps, with their video or picture, how long you've been talking, and buttons to mute, hang up or go back to Ventra Link. Drag it anywhere and resize it from its edges.
• Mute from any app (Mac and Windows). Press ⌘⇧M on Mac or Ctrl+Shift+M on Windows to mute or unmute while you're in a call or voice channel, even when Ventra Link isn't in front. The shortcut is only taken while there's something to mute, so other apps keep it the rest of the time. Pick ⌃⌥M / Ctrl+Alt+M instead, or turn it off, in Settings.
• More formatting. Start a line with > for a quote, or - or * for a list. Wrap text in ||double bars|| to hide it as a spoiler until someone clicks it. Spoilers stay hidden in the chat list, search and notifications.
• New slash commands: /roll 2d6 rolls dice, /flip flips a coin, /choose Pizza | Tacos picks one for you, /code sends text as a code block, and /lenny adds ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

Improved

• Replies look tidier. The quoted message now lines up with the width of your reply instead of stretching past it.
• Reactions sit on a message with a small bubble tail pointing at it, like iMessage tapbacks.
• Small GIFs show a bit bigger in chat.
• The call card works in narrow windows. Its buttons wrap instead of being cut off, and the call's length always stays visible.
• Signing in to an existing account on a new computer waits for your name to come from your backup or your other devices, instead of asking you for it again.

Fixed

• Someone whose clock is set ahead can no longer send a message dated in the future, which could hide their later messages and throw off unread counts.
• Unblocking someone no longer deletes your chat history with them.
• A blocked contact can no longer get through from a device of theirs you hadn't seen before.
• Passkey sign-in keeps working for accounts that go a long time without changes. Your devices now refresh the passkey's encrypted backup every month.
• A mesh emoji that's a huge animated GIF or WebP can no longer use a lot of memory. Long ones play smaller.
• The sound check in Settings is turned off while you're in a voice channel, as it already was during calls.
• Choosing a slash command from the suggestions puts the cursor after it, so you can keep typing.
• More file types that can run code or open connections (such as .rdp, .theme and Office add-ins) are saved with Save As instead of opening directly.

Android (in testing)

Ventra Link is coming to Android, for phones and tablets on Android 14 and newer. It's in a closed test on Google Play before its public release. Will add a release link in the future for more open access.

• It does nearly everything the iPhone app does: chats, meshes and channels, voice and video calls, voice messages, GIFs, polls and custom emoji.
• Calls ring even when the app is closed, and show on the lock screen.
• Keep using the app during a call with a small call window, or picture in picture when you leave the app.
• Notifications you can reply to right from the notification.
• On tablets and unfolded phones, your chat list shows beside the open conversation.

iPhone and iPad

These changes come with the next iPhone and iPad update:

• Calls ring even when the app is closed, through the iPhone's normal call screen. Only your contacts can ring your phone this way.
• Keep using the app during a call. Swipe the call screen down and it becomes a small tile you can move to any corner. Video calls keep playing in picture in picture when you leave the app.
• Voice messages: tap the microphone to record, listen back before sending, and play them right in the chat.
• Quotes, lists and tap-to-reveal spoilers, which stay hidden in notifications.
• Tapping a reply's quote jumps to the original message, even if it's far back in the chat.
• Double-tap video in a call to switch between filling the screen and showing the whole picture.
• Chat headers and contact cards show how you're connected, such as "Direct · IPv6 · 24 ms".
• Signing out or deleting your account stops push notifications to that phone right away.
• The same call no longer shows up twice when its notification and the call itself arrive together.
• Steadier sound when switching between calls, voice channels and voice messages.

Other

• Ventra Link's service now limits how much new mail and backup data each network can upload per day, to keep one person from filling it up for everyone.
• Username reservations are now renewed every week while your app is running.
• Link previews no longer write the link into the app's logs, so shared diagnostics don't include what you were reading.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.5

What's new

New

• iPhone Duo support. Unfold it and the app opens in landscape, with your chat list beside the open conversation, like on iPad. Folded, it works like any other iPhone.

Improved

• Steadier voice. After a network hiccup, voice delay is back to normal within about 10 seconds instead of staying high, and late audio is skipped rather than played behind. Switching microphones or turning the iPhone speaker on or off no longer adds delay.
• Voice stays at full quality. Calls keep their high bitrate and only step down on a badly congested or lossy connection, then return to full quality within seconds once it clears.
• Less video lag on slow connections. Old frames are dropped instead of queued, so video stays close to real time. Video in group calls also recovers from freezes much faster.
• Calls survive short drops. If a 1:1 call loses its connection, for example when switching Wi-Fi, it now waits up to 20 seconds for it to come back instead of ending right away. A call that moves to a new connection keeps its sound with no gap.
• Faster reconnects. When someone restarts the app, you reconnect right away instead of after about 30 seconds.
• A smoother, lighter desktop app. The window only redraws what changed, uses less CPU when idle or in the tray, and frees image memory it no longer needs.
• Faster catch-up in busy meshes. Joining or reopening a busy mesh no longer holds up messages and calls while its history syncs.
• Resizing a window you're sharing on Windows no longer stutters.
• Sharing large videos or HEIC photos to Ventra Link from other iPhone apps no longer crashes.

Fixed

• Turning on a camera or sharing a screen can no longer freeze a call if the device stops responding. If you turn it off while it's still starting, it stays off and nothing is sent.
• A call no longer stays connected on one side when answering crosses a hang-up, or when two of your devices answer at once.
• Calling someone again while your first call is still ringing no longer shows them as busy.
• Signing in or out no longer freezes the app.
• Closing the camera preview in settings no longer freezes the window on Windows.
• "Restart to update" can no longer get stuck in a loop.
• Opening the app twice at the same moment no longer leaves two copies running.
• A picture you paste stays in the chat you pasted it into, even if you switch chats while it's saving.
• In meshes that hide history from new members, messages could stop syncing if someone who has since left wrote a lot before you joined.
• Large mesh file downloads over slow connections no longer give up partway.
• iPhone: GIF search is back.
• iPhone: the back camera's self-view is no longer mirrored.
• iPhone: voice channels and calls get their sound back after a phone call, Siri or an alarm interrupts them.
• iPhone: messages sent just before locking the phone go out right away.
• iPhone: notifications are no longer sometimes shown twice.
• iPhone: video in calls no longer skips frames.
• iPhone: if your phone is out of storage, things you share from other apps are kept and sent later instead of being lost.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.4

What's new

New

• Calls dock in the sidebar. When you leave the conversation you're calling in, the call moves to the bottom of the sidebar instead of floating over the page. It shows who you're with and how long you've been talking, with buttons to mute, turn your camera on or off, and hang up. Click it to go back to the call. With the sidebar collapsed, it shrinks to their picture with the buttons underneath. Incoming calls still pop up front so you don't miss them.

Improved

• Sharper self-view. Your own camera preview in video calls is now twice as sharp, with almost no extra work for your computer.
• Faster recovery when video restarts. If someone stops and quickly restarts their camera or screen share, their video comes back right away instead of staying blank for a few seconds.

Fixed

• Screen shares no longer freeze on screen after they end. Stopping a screen share (or turning off a camera) could leave its last frame stuck for everyone else in the call. It now disappears as it should, in both 1:1 calls and groups.
• Calls no longer lock up when a camera stops responding (Windows). If a webcam stalled, the call could freeze completely: no sound, and no way to hang up or click anything until you restarted the app. A stuck camera now just stops sending video, and the rest of the call keeps working.
• Call controls fade out properly on Windows. The controls over video now hide when you stop moving the mouse, even with the pointer resting inside the window, as they already did on Mac.

Other

• Diagnostics exports now include the time zone the app is using, to help track down time display issues.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.3

What's new

Improved

• See who has their camera on or is sharing their screen in a voice room. New icons sit beside their name in the channel list, next to the muted and deafened icons.

Fixed

• Windows: the window can be moved by dragging the top bar of a chat, channel or voice room again.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.2

What's new

New

• Notifications show who sent the message. On Windows their picture replaces the app icon, and on Mac it shows beside the message.
• Your other devices stay quiet while you use one. A computer you're not using won't chime or pop up a notification while you're active on another device. Calls still ring everywhere.
• Frequently used emoji. The emoji picker has a new tab for the ones you use most, and your favorite gets a spot in quick reactions next to 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢.

Improved

• Read something on one device and your others catch up when they reconnect, so unread counts and notifications clear everywhere.
• Messages to a sleeping iPhone notify sooner. If the phone doesn't answer within a few seconds, its notification goes out right away instead of up to a minute later.
• Video calls on Windows use the dedicated graphics card when the computer has one.
• Emoji shortcodes work with capital letters too, like :Eyes:, and the picker no longer shows emoji your computer can't display yet.

Fixed

• Security: updated a cryptography library to fix a timing issue that could in theory leak secret keys (RUSTSEC-2026-0385).
• Windows: fixed a crash that could happen while dragging the window by the top bar of a call or voice room.
• Scrolling down with the mouse reaches the very bottom of a chat again, without the arrow and fade getting stuck.

iPhone and iPad

These changes come with the next iPhone and iPad update:

• Fewer repeat notifications: no more notifications for messages you already read on another device or while you were in the chat, and fewer plain "New message" notifications left behind.
• React with any emoji, including your mesh's own emoji, and add mesh emoji from the + menu.
• Smoother chats: fixed freezing that could stop scrolling and swiping back, and older messages load without jumping.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.1

What's new

New

• GIFs. Search KLIPY from the new + button or by typing /gif, and send one in any chat or channel.
• Custom emojis for meshes. Members with the new Manage emojis permission can add up to 50, animated ones too, and everyone can use them in messages and reactions.
• Emoji shortcodes. Type 😄 and it turns into 😄, with suggestions as you type and a new emoji picker with search.
• Commands. Type / for /gif, /poll, /me, /shrug, /tableflip and /unflip.
• Polls. /poll Question | Option | Option posts a poll where everyone gets one vote.
• Call settings without leaving the call. Switch microphone, speaker and camera, change quality, and turn noise suppression, echo cancellation, automatic volume and same-room mode on or off.
• See who's in a voice room from your chat list and the mesh rail, without opening the mesh.

Improved

• Mesh settings are redesigned, with separate pages for members, invites, emojis, roles, bans and activity, and easier role management.
• Shorter right-click menus for members. Move someone to another voice room by dragging them.
• Drag categories to reorder them, like channels.
• Your profile and settings are at the bottom left in meshes too.
• Video call controls fade away when you're not moving the mouse.
• Press Enter to confirm dialogs, like creating a channel.

Fixed

• Windows: the window can be moved from the top bar during calls and in voice rooms.
• Windows: the window buttons stay in the corner when the members list is open, and the app icon fills the empty top-left corner.
• IPv6 and MAC addresses in messages are no longer turned into emoji.

Good to know

• Custom emojis show as their :names: in older versions, including the iPhone app until its next update. Everything else works across versions.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.

Ventra Link 0.7.0

What's new

New: meshes and group chats

• Group chats. Start one from the compose button for up to five people, and it sits in your chat list like any other chat.
• Meshes. Bigger groups with text channels, voice rooms, categories, roles and pins, in the new Meshes tab on iPhone and the rail on the desktop. There's no group server: members' own devices keep the mesh, end-to-end encrypted.
• Voice rooms. Drop in and out whenever you like, with cameras, screen sharing, and a volume slider for each person. Moderators can mute members or move them to another room.
• Invite links. Share a link to let people in, even if they aren't your contacts yet. Links last a week, and whoever made one can turn it off at any time.
• Private channels, sealed with their own key so only the roles you choose can read them.
• Replies, reactions, edits, mentions, typing and read status work in channels just like in chats. Notifications can be set for each mesh and each channel.
• Relayed or direct. Each mesh is made one way and stays that way: through relays, or straight between members for the clearest voice and fastest files.
• Owners and moderators can remove, ban and mute members, and anyone can report a member.
• Small group chats can catch up through an encrypted mailbox while everyone's away.

Improved

• Voice rooms and 1:1 calls take turns with your speaker and microphone instead of cutting each other off.
• An incoming call shows on top while you're in a mesh.

Fixed

• A chat is marked read properly when two messages arrive at the same moment.

iPhone and iPad

• Meshes and group chats come to iPhone and iPad, with a new Meshes tab.
• Group notifications show who wrote and what, opened on your device.
• The same message no longer notifies twice.
• Video calls start on the front camera, already in the ringing preview.

Install

The easiest way is the download button on
ventra.dev/ventra-link,
which always offers the newest version. Or pick a file below:

File	For
VentraLink-*-macOS.dmg	macOS 13+ on Apple silicon (signed and notarized)
VentraLink-*-Windows-Setup.exe	Windows 10/11, 64-bit
ventra-link_*_amd64.deb	Debian, Ubuntu and similar (best effort, no automatic updates)
VentraLink-*-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	Other Linux distributions (best effort)

The macOS app, Windows install and AppImage update themselves;
*.app.zip, latest.json and latest.json.sig are for that. A
.deb install needs each new .deb installed by hand.

Check a download with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing.