The Mall Manifesto: How We Survived Without a Tracking Device
It's 1990 something. You're standing in front of the Suncoast Motion Picture Co., and your best friend is nowhere to be found...
CloakShell: The community platform that doesn't need your real name.
CloakShell is the free community platform that gives your group real-time chat, built-in forums, and everything it needs. No real name required, no face scans, no data mining.
Free forever No real name required No face scans, ever No ads, no cross-site tracking
This isn't a screenshot. Click around: switch channels, read the forums, try a theme.
Everything your community needs on day one.
Chat, forums, and moderation tools for gaming communities, study groups, open-source projects, creator collectives, and more. All free.
Real-time chat
Organize conversations by topic with channels, emoji reactions, typing indicators, and live presence. Fast, fluid, and no one's tracking you.
Built-in forums
Long-form discussions that live alongside your chat. Threaded replies and public forums, fully searchable on the web.
What is your favorite dog breed?
Interactive Polls
Make decisions together with anonymous voting and voter-suggested options in any channel.
GitHub
BOT
Advanced webhooks & bots
Connect your favorite tools with incoming webhooks and build custom bots using our open API. Your automations, your server. Included with CloakShell+.
DMs & Group chats
Private conversations and ad-hoc groups. Searchable history, read receipts optional, blocking instant. Up to 10 people free, 25 with CloakShell+.
Roles & permissions
Full moderation toolkit with custom roles and transparent audit logs. Your community, your rules.
Custom emoji
Turn inside jokes into custom emoji. Static or animated, usable everywhere: chat, forums, DMs, and reactions.
Stay connected
Push notifications and per-channel controls. Install as an app on any device, even offline.
Traditional platforms lock communities behind digital walls. We need four things.
Other apps gate group signups behind invasive identity checks. We keep our list short so anyone can join.
What other platforms want
- Government-issued photo ID
- Face scan / biometrics
- Phone number
- Real name
- Ad targeting data
- Contact list
What CloakShell needs
- Email address Account login and security alerts
- Username Your online identity
- Password Stored only as a secure hash
- Date of birth Required by law
Free forever. Seriously.
Everything above is free: unlimited chat, 100 MB file uploads, full-text search, roles, and forums. No trial clock, no feature wall. CloakShell+ adds extra customization and power features for those who want more.
Best value: $3.99/mo billed annually Flexible: $4.99 month-to-month
CLOAKSHELL
$0 / forever
- Unlimited real-time chat
- Unlimited direct messages
- Group DMs (up to 10 people)
- Join up to 10 communities
- Forums: read, post, and reply
- Full-text search
- File uploads (100 MB)
- 500 MB total storage
- Edit messages within 15 minutes
- Roles & permissions
CLOAKSHELL+ Save 20%
$3.99 / month
$47.99 billed annually. Prefer monthly? $4.99 month-to-month.
Everything in CloakShell, plus:
- Animated GIF avatars & CloakShell+ badge
- Custom profile colors & banners
- Custom community themes & banners
- Upload custom emojis for your community
- Edit messages anytime (no time limit)
- 200 MB file uploads & 25 GB storage
- 1080p video uploads
- Up to 50 communities (vs 10 free)
- Bigger group chats (25 people, 200 groups)
- Pin forum posts & highlighted replies
- Personalized invite codes
- Personal stats dashboard
Get CloakShell+
Upgrade anytime from settings
Your people are waiting.
Whether you're building a gaming community, study group, open-source project, or something entirely your own, there's room here. And it's free.
No phone number. No photo ID. No credit card. Just four fields and you're in.
Questions you're probably asking
Is CloakShell really free?
Yes. Chat, forums, communities, DMs, search, and file uploads are completely free with no time limit or trial period. CloakShell+ ($4.99/month or $47.99/year) is an optional membership for extra customization and power features.
Can I move my community here?
Yes. Set up takes minutes. Create your community, configure your channels and forums, and share the invite link with your members.
Why should I trust a new platform?
We publish exactly what we collect and what we don't. We make money from optional memberships, not your data. Privacy isn't something we bolted on later. It's why we built this.
Is there a mobile app?
Native iOS and Android apps are coming soon. CloakShell also works as a full-featured app you can install directly from your browser on any device.
What about voice chat?
Voice channels are on our roadmap. Our current focus is shipping native mobile apps, and voice is next after that.
How do you make money without ads?
Optional CloakShell+ memberships. We will never run ads, sell your data, or train AI on your data. Ads and data sales are permanently off the table.
Is this actually private or just marketing?
Sign up with an email, a username, a password, and your date of birth. That's the whole list. We don't collect your name, phone, ID, location, or browsing habits. Your data is yours, not ours to sell. Ever.
Why don't you need my ID or face scan?
CloakShell is built to keep invasive identity checks out of the product. We prohibit NSFW content and screen uploads before they are stored or published, so there is no need for face scans, ID uploads, or a biometric database. You get the platform, not a digital background check.
How is CloakShell different from traditional chat or forum apps?
Traditional communication tools are either built for corporate offices or designed for gamers. They often rely on invasive phone verification, algorithmic feeds, and data mining. CloakShell is built specifically for communities. We combine the immediate connection of real-time chat with the organization of searchable forums under a single, privacy-first roof. You get a clean space to organize your community, with no cross-site tracking and zero ads.