SimpleX — Privacy Chat Without IDs | Easy Understand Hermes Agent

Think of SimpleX like a masked ball where you never exchange names—you only know people by the unique dance moves they use to greet you. That’s the core idea: no usernames, no phone numbers, no persistent IDs. Just private, direct connections.

If you’re tired of “sign up with your email” and want a chat bot that doesn’t track you, SimpleX is a breath of fresh air. And with Hermes Agent, you can connect your AI assistant to this ultra-private network in about 10 minutes.

What Makes SimpleX Different?

Most messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram) assign you a permanent ID. SimpleX doesn’t. Every contact gets a random, opaque internal ID at connection time. Even the server doesn’t know who you are. For privacy nerds, this is heaven.

For Hermes, this means your AI agent can chat with you—or your friends—without leaving a digital footprint.

Step 1: Install the SimpleX Chat Daemon

First, you need the command-line client that runs in the background. Download it like this:

curl -L https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/releases/latest/download/simplex-chat-ubuntu-22_04-x86_64 -o simplex-chat
chmod +x simplex-chat

Then start it as a daemon (a background process) on port 5225:

./simplex-chat -p 5225

This listens for messages on ws://127.0.0.1:5225—your local WebSocket.

Step 2: Connect Hermes to SimpleX

Now tell Hermes where to find SimpleX. The easiest way is the guided setup:

hermes gateway setup

Pick SimpleX Chat and follow the prompts.

Prefer manual control? Add these to ~/.hermes/.env:

SIMPLEX_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:5225
SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERS=4,alice   # your contact ID or display name

SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERS is your allowlist—only these contacts can talk to your bot.
SIMPLEX_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true opens it to everyone (use carefully!).
SIMPLEX_AUTO_ACCEPT=true automatically accepts new contact requests.

Step 3: Find Your Contact ID

Start a conversation with your bot in the SimpleX app. The numeric contactId shows up in the daemon’s logs. You can also use the display name you see in the UI—both work in the allowlist.

Step 4: Authorize Contacts (Security First)

By default, everyone is denied. You have two ways to let someone in:

Add them to the allowlist (as shown above).
DM pairing: send any message to the bot. It replies with a code. Then run:

hermes pairing approve simplex <CODE>

This is great for testing—you don’t have to edit files.

Bonus: Group Chats & Home Channel

Want your bot in a group? Set SIMPLEX_GROUP_ALLOWED to specific group IDs (or * for any group). And SIMPLEX_HOME_CHANNEL lets you set a default contact/group for scheduled tasks (like daily summaries).

Wrapping Up

SimpleX gives you true privacy—no IDs, no tracking. With Hermes Agent, you get a personal AI that lives on this private network. The setup is simple: install the daemon, point Hermes to it, and authorize your contacts.

Practical tip: Start with one contact and use the DM pairing method first. It’s the fastest way to test without fiddling with config files. Once it works, add more users to the allowlist.

Your AI, your rules, no digital identity required. That’s the future of private chat.