OpenKeychain is an OpenPGP implementation for Android. It manages your keys and those of your contacts, and integrates with K-9 Mail and FairEmail for end-to-end encrypted email on Android devices.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
OpenKeychain
openkeychain.org No ratings yet. Be the first.
Rate OpenKeychain: No account needed
Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
OpenKeychain passed an independent security audit by Cure53 with no critical findings, which is a meaningful bar for an app handling key material on a mobile device. Development has gone quiet and the project is in maintenance mode rather than active growth, but the app remains functional and security patches are still applied when reported. It covers a genuine gap: OpenPGP on Android with a clean integration into the leading open-source mail clients. Choose it if you need PGP on Android; be aware you are on a tool that is no longer being pushed forward.
GitHub at a glance
open-keychain/open-keychain GPL-3.0 androidopenpgp
Stars
2,632
+2 this week
Forks
541
104 watching
Last commit
2.5y ago
slowing
Star history
Issues
77% closed
509
open
1,692
closed
+0 / -0
opened / closed, last 4 weeks
Opened vs closed, last 12 weeks
Commits, last 26 weeks
0 commits, active 0 of 26 weeks
108 contributors since Mar 2012
Languages
- Java 99.4%
- Python 0.3%
- Shell 0.2%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 22, 2026.
Website at a glance
openkeychain.org
B score 75
Solid website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 3d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
OpenKeychain alternatives
PrivacyNotes Encrypted notes, tasks, calendar, files, passwords and a journal with mood and medication tracking, all unlocked by one 12-word recovery phrase. Sign up with no email and no password. Open source.
7-Zip File archiver with a high compression ratio and built-in encryption functionality.
FileVault FileVault is the built-in full-disk encryption feature in macOS. On Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip, data is encrypted by hardware by default; enabling FileVault adds a login-password gate that prevents decryption without your credentials.
BitLocker BitLocker is the built-in full-disk encryption feature in Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. It encrypts the operating system drive and fixed data drives using AES-XTS, with optional TPM-backed pre-boot authentication.
VERNAM A free, fully client-side file encryptor that runs in your browser. Drop in any file, set or generate a passphrase, and it seals the result into its own .vrn format. Nothing is ever uploaded, and it works offline.
VeraCrypt It can create a virtual encrypted disk that works just like a regular disk but within a file. It can also encrypt a partition or the entire storage device with pre-boot…
OpenKeychain license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
* Average ratings will show on this page once the threshold of 5 ratings is reached.