SMA

Encrypted message app with better-auth and device sync features

Web app Rated 7 Oct 2026

Link: sma.et
Built by: Robi makes stuff

Float

321/500

Where it landed on the scale

Bloat
0

Float
300

Moat
400

500

Summary

SMA is a live, working anonymous-messaging app that has been shipped steadily for about 31 months. Its encryption design is thoughtful and its privacy policy and terms are detailed. The paid layer is new (10 ETB themes, superchats) and not yet shown to bring in money. The idea is also easy for others to copy.

Float · Real and alive, but nothing stops a copy yet.

Breakdown

Five measures, 100 points each. Open the receipts under any of them to see the posts and pages behind the points.

Viability

Is there a real problem, someone who would pay, and a market this builder can actually reach?

There is a real use case (anonymous Q&A and feedback for creators) and a believable, locally fitting way to charge: small ETB payments for cosmetics and superchats. No evidence yet shows anyone paying.

48/100

Rubric 41–60Plausible users and a believable way to charge them. Not yet shown to work.

Receipts (4)

Announces paid room cosmetics at 10 ETB on sma.et, plus Google-verified rooms and backups.
“Ive split sma into two We now have sma.et and sma.robi.work a lot of people wont like the direction im going to take sma so the open source and pgp first fully anon version will always be hosted at sma.robi.work i did want to continue working on new features and improvements and uhh actually treat it serious though so im closed sourcing sma.et. and adding google auth ( opt in , not required ”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 18 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Lists 'Monetize sma.et' as a completed goal, but gives no customer or revenue figures.
“It's Monday once more Good luck with week 39 [91] Week 38 feats : Completion wins // Closing loops - Release v1.34 of odit ( performance update ) - Monetize sma.et , update sma.robi.work Progress wins // Moving something forward - suffer more”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 21 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Terms say superchats are paid directly to the room owner and fees to the developer unlock features, so a payment model is defined.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et/terms (opens in a new tab)
The live site shows no pricing page and the crawler found no payment provider.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et (opens in a new tab)

Moat

What stops someone copying it?

The core idea is an ngl-style clone, and the edge is mostly execution and a privacy-first design. Closed-sourcing sma.et and adding payments and verified rooms give some separation, but nothing compounds yet.

28/100

Rubric 21–40The only edge is execution, or being first.

Receipts (3)

Describes the original as an ngl.link replacement built as a 5-hour project, so the concept is easy to copy.
“🎉 Honey , its time for a new product born out of necessity , but over engineered out of ... autism Introducing sma.robi.work ( send messages anon ) a ngl.link replacement that's web based and PGP by default. ( Yes , not only me , but also the feds cant decrypt what you send people now ) for the paranoid ones ( check your network tab , i'm only saving public keys , and every private key is ”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 14 Mar 2024 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Splits the product: the open-source PGP version stays on sma.robi.work while sma.et is closed-source with Google auth, verified rooms and paid themes.
“Ive split sma into two We now have sma.et and sma.robi.work a lot of people wont like the direction im going to take sma so the open source and pgp first fully anon version will always be hosted at sma.robi.work i did want to continue working on new features and improvements and uhh actually treat it serious though so im closed sourcing sma.et. and adding google auth ( opt in , not required ”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 18 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
The privacy policy describes browser-side encryption, encrypted backups and payout details, which is careful engineering but replicable.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et/privacy (opens in a new tab)

Momentum

Did the updates keep coming?

Worked on across 31 months, with updates in 17 of them and a burst of activity in mid-2026 (websockets, replies, moderation, monetization, the product split). It has stayed alive through quiet stretches.

82/100

Sustained shipping60/60
Worked on across 31 months.
Consistency22/40
Updates in 17 of 31 months.

Receipts (2)

Earliest post about it.
“🎉 Honey , its time for a new product born out of necessity , but over engineered out of ... autism Introducing sma.robi.work ( send messages anon ) a ngl.link replacement that's web based and PGP by default. ( Yes , not only me , but also the feds cant decrypt what you send people now ) for the paranoid ones ( check your network tab , i'm only saving public keys , and every private key is ”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 14 Mar 2024 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Most recent post about it.
“what im finding out from the data is people almost never categorize 😭 https://sma.et/b/8uBNZoZ_AXZf like bro why”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 25 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

Infrastructure

Does a real, working product exist?

A full, live product exists: encrypted text and voice rooms, images, replies, websockets, optional accounts, backups and superchat tiers, with privacy and terms pages. It lacks a public status page, API docs, or visible payment integration on the site.

95/100

It's live20/20
https://sma.et responded when checked.
HTTPS5/5
Served over HTTPS.
Real product35/35
A full working product: end-to-end encrypted text and voice rooms, image support, replies, websockets, identity backups, abuse limits and superchat tiers, all live.
Own home10/10
Lives on its own domain (sma.et).
Maintained15/15
Last sign of shipping 2026-09-25.
Operations10/15
There is a real backend with a self-managed database, websockets, optional accounts, moderation and spam controls, webhooks, privacy and terms pages, and two deployments. There is no public API docs or status page.

Receipts (5)

https://sma.et responded when checked.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et (opens in a new tab)
sma.et is live and serving the app.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et (opens in a new tab)
The privacy policy describes encrypted text and voice notes, images, backups, room settings, webhooks and superchats as implemented features.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et/privacy (opens in a new tab)
The site came back online with websocket support.
“sma.et & sma.robi.work is now back online. now with websocket support.”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 15 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Replies shipped on sma.et.
“added replies to sma.et”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 17 Aug 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

Sustainability

Is it being set up to last?

It is a web app on its own domain with a believable small-payment model in ETB, but there is no evidence of paying customers and the idea is easy to clone. It is kept alive by one dedicated solo builder.

68/100

Distribution25/30
A web app on its own domain.
Payments0/15
No payment provider found.
Pricing10/10
Prices stated in the creator's posts.
Revenue1/5
Monetization was only just introduced, and no post shows a paying customer or any income.
Privacy policy7/7
Has a privacy policy.
Terms5/5
Has terms of service.
Support8/8
Posts point users to a support channel.
Commitment12/20
The project has been shipped steadily for over two and a half years, with outside open-source contributors, weekly progress logs and a deliberate product split. There is no formal team, dedicated community channel or funding.

Receipts (6)

A web app on its own domain.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et (opens in a new tab)
Has a privacy policy.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · sma.et/privacy (opens in a new tab)
Says sma.et was monetized but gives no results.
“It's Monday once more Good luck with week 39 [91] Week 38 feats : Completion wins // Closing loops - Release v1.34 of odit ( performance update ) - Monetize sma.et , update sma.robi.work Progress wins // Moving something forward - suffer more”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 21 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Sets the 10 ETB price for cosmetics without reporting any purchases.
“Ive split sma into two We now have sma.et and sma.robi.work a lot of people wont like the direction im going to take sma so the open source and pgp first fully anon version will always be hosted at sma.robi.work i did want to continue working on new features and improvements and uhh actually treat it serious though so im closed sourcing sma.et. and adding google auth ( opt in , not required ”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 18 Sept 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
First open-source contributor merged a profanity-check PR.
“S.M.A has its first opensource contributor pilanop @Khalid_104 just added Profanity checking tysmmm ❤️ Ik i have a lot of troll friends so try to juke the system eski and lets smoke test it”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 21 Apr 2024 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Further contributor PRs (room titles, image support) were merged.
“Another absolutely fire PR from @Khalid_104 adds support for room titles. just press edit on your room id and now you can add custom aliases to it. migrated the prod database to give them the new field , when you load your old rooms you should start with the title being your rid. dude also has super descriptive pr's and a nice eye for design . Very grateful he is contributing to the project”
Post · @Robi_makes_stuff · 25 Apr 2024 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)