Kind 14: Direct Message

Overview

Direct Message events (kind 14) are used for private messaging between users. They use a sophisticated multi-layer encryption approach to protect the privacy and security of conversations. They replace the deprecated kind 4 encrypted direct messages, offering significantly improved privacy.

Specification

Property	Value
Kind Number	14
Event Range	Regular
Defined in	NIP-17

Content Format

The content field contains plain text message content. Unlike kind 4 messages, the content is not directly encrypted—instead, the entire event is encrypted using the Gift Wrap protocol (NIP-59) before transmission.

Schema

"content": "Plain text message content"

Tags

Tag Name	Description	Format	Required
p	Recipient public key(s)	["p", "<pubkey-hex>", "<relay-url>"]	Yes
e	Referenced message (for replies)	["e", "<event-id>", "<relay-url>"]	No
subject	Conversation title/topic	["subject", "Conversation subject"]	No
q	Quoted event reference	["q", "<event-id>", "<relay-url>", "<pubkey-hex>"]	No

Client Behavior

Clients should:

1. Create direct messages as unsigned kind 14 events (called rumors)

2. Never sign or broadcast raw kind 14 events directly

3. Encrypt and wrap the messages using the NIP-59 Gift Wrap protocol:

   • Wrap the unsigned message in a Seal (kind 13)
   • Wrap the Seal in a Gift Wrap (kind 1059)
   • Create individual wrapped messages for each recipient
   • Create a copy for the sender too, for consistent history display

4. When publishing messages:

   • Look for the recipient's preferred DM relays in their kind 10050 event
   • Send the wrapped message to those relays

5. When receiving direct messages:

   • Unwrap the Gift Wrap and Seal layers
   • Verify that the inner message's pubkey matches the Seal's pubkey
   • Display messages from the same group of participants as a conversation thread

Relay Behavior

Relays should:

1. Only serve kind 1059 Gift Wrap events to their intended recipients
2. Consider requiring authentication (NIP-42) for DM access
3. Not retain or log the encrypted content of messages

Use Cases

• Private one-on-one conversations
• Small private group chats
• Encrypted file sharing (using kind 15)
• Secure conversations with metadata protection

Example

// Note: This is how the UNSIGNED event looks before being sealed and wrapped
{
  "id": "4376c65d2f232afbe9b882a35baa4f6fe8667c4e684749af565f981833ed6a65",
  "pubkey": "79dff8f82963424e0bb02708a22e44b4980893e3a4be0fa3cb60a43b946764e3",
  "created_at": 1671217411,
  "kind": 14,
  "tags": [
    ["p", "f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca", "wss://relay.example.com"],
    ["subject", "Meeting tomorrow"]
  ],
  "content": "Hey, are we still meeting tomorrow at 2pm?"
}

// This event would never be broadcast directly - it would be wrapped in a Seal and Gift Wrap

Authentication & Privacy

The multi-layered encryption approach:

1. Rumor Layer: Unsigned event (deniability)
2. Seal Layer: Encrypted with sender's key (authenticity)
3. Gift Wrap Layer: Encrypted with a throwaway key (metadata protection)

This protects:

• Message content (through encryption)
• Sender identity (only recipient can know who sent it)
• Message timestamps (randomized to prevent timing analysis)
• Social graph information (hard to determine who is messaging whom)

Relay Discovery

Users publish a kind 10050 event listing their preferred DM relays:

{
  "kind": 10050,
  "tags": [
    ["relay", "wss://inbox.nostr.wine"],
    ["relay", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ],
  "content": ""
}

Senders should check this list and only send messages to the recipient's chosen relays.

References

• NIP-17: Private Direct Messages
• NIP-59: Gift Wrap
• NIP-44: Encrypted Payloads

Related Kinds

• Kind 4: Encrypted Direct Message - Deprecated predecessor
• Kind 13: Seal - Used to wrap and sign the message
• Kind 15: File Message - For sending encrypted files
• Kind 1059: Gift Wrap - Outer encryption layer
• Kind 10050: DM Relays - User's preferred DM relays

Notes

• Unlike kind 4 messages, kind 14 messages must never be signed or broadcast directly
• Kind 14 messages support both one-on-one and small group conversations
• The same encryption approach is used for kind 15 file messages
• Users can opt into disappearing messages functionality
• Participants in a conversation are determined by the combination of the sender pubkey and all p-tagged pubkeys
• The newest message with a subject tag determines the conversation's title