Truly private
End-to-end encrypted, endpoint to endpoint. Keys never touch the relay, so the line in the middle only ever sees ciphertext — even when it’s ours. There’s nothing to hand over because there’s nothing to read.
A tether to your own machine
The only line to your machine.
And it’s yours.
A private, encrypted tether to your own computer — reachable from any device, even your phone’s browser. Self-host the whole thing, or let us run it. No per-device fees, no renewal traps, no “you look commercial” email. Ever.
End-to-end encrypted Open-source engine Works in any browser
Checking relay…
PC Phone
live preview · either way, no app store
The toll booth
Remote desktop shouldn’t come with an itemized bill of grievances.
The incumbents charge for access to your own computer — then keep finding new ways to charge more. Here’s the bill people actually resent, line by line. As you read, the tether strikes each one. It never gets cut.
The incumbents’ invoice
- Per-device & per-seat fees — pay again for every machine you want to reach. + stacks up
- 5–15% annual price hikes — the price you signed up for is not the price you keep. + every year
- 28-day cancellation window — miss it and you’re renewed for another year. + auto-renew
- “You look commercial” lockouts — policies that flag personal users and cut off the free tier, even with proof. + access revoked
- $25–$230 / month plans — enterprise pricing for the simple act of reaching your desk. + monthly
Tethry’s line item
$0 to self-host · flat if hosted
Figures reflect publicly listed pricing and published policies of major remote-desktop vendors. Tethry charges for hosting convenience — never for the right to reach your own machine.
How it works
Three steps down one line.
No connection IDs to copy around, no server manual to read. Install once, tether your devices to your account, and reach them from anything with a screen.
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1
Install once
Run the lightweight Tethry agent on the computer you want to reach — Windows, macOS, or Linux. One install. It registers to your account and waits, quietly.
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2
Tether your devices
Sign in on your other devices. They join the same private line — no IDs to read out loud, no firewall spelunking. Self-host the relay or use ours; the experience is identical.
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3
Reach it anywhere
Open the app or just a browser tab — desk, laptop, or the phone in your pocket. You’re on your machine in seconds, full control, low latency. The little chip in the title bar isn’t decoration.
Why Tethry
Four things we refuse to compromise.
You own it
Self-host the relay on your own box and the whole pipeline is yours — no account required, no third party in the loop. The engine is open-source (AGPL). Walk away whenever you like; there’s no lock-in to walk away from.
No toll booth
No per-device fees. No surprise renewals. No annual hike. No email accusing you of looking commercial. Self-hosting is free forever, and hosted plans are flat — you cancel any time, in one click.
Effortless
The control and ownership of self-hosting, with the polish the open-source tools never had. No connection IDs to juggle, no app store to wait on. It opens in a browser tab and just works — that’s the whole point.
Any device, no install
It runs in a browser tab. Yes, including the iPhone.
No app store, no “not available in your region,” no waiting on a review. Open Safari, type your address, and you’re on your desktop — full keyboard, real control, the same encrypted line as the native client.
- Works on iOS Safari, Android Chrome, and every desktop browser.
- Nothing to download on the device you’re reaching from.
- Same end-to-end encryption as the installed app — no compromise for convenience.
Security
The relay carries the line. It never reads it.
Your session is encrypted on your device and decrypted only on the other end. In between, the relay’s entire job is to pass along sealed packets it cannot open. Self-host that relay and even the metadata is yours. Watch one packet make the trip.
No plaintext at the relay
The relay forwards encrypted frames it has no key to open. “Trust us” isn’t the security model — the math is. The screen of your machine is never legible anywhere but the two endpoints.
Your relay, your data
Host the relay yourself and the connection metadata never leaves your infrastructure either. No telemetry phoning home, nothing to subpoena from a vendor that simply doesn’t have it.
Open to inspection
The engine is open-source under the AGPL. You don’t have to take our word for any of this — the code is public, auditable, and yours to run.
Pricing
Free to own. Fair to host. Never a toll.
Their sins, turned into our promises: no per-device fees, cancel any time, no renewal surprises, no annual hike. Self-hosting is free forever — the hosted plans just rent you the convenience of not running the relay.
Self-host
Run the relay yourself.
$0forever
- Unlimited devices, unlimited connections
- Your own relay, your own infrastructure
- End-to-end encrypted, no telemetry
- Open-source engine (AGPL)
- No account required
The whole product, free. This isn’t a trial.
Personal
We run the relay for you.
$5/ month
- Hosted relay, zero setup
- Up to 10 of your own devices
- Browser access from anywhere
- No per-device fees, ever
- Cancel in one click — no 28-day trap
Undercuts the paid incumbents by an order of magnitude.
Team
Hosted, for small teams & MSPs.
$12/ user · mo
- Everything in Personal
- Shared device groups & roles
- Session log & access control
- Priority relay routing
- Flat per-user — no device gouging
Pay per person, not per machine they touch.
No per-device fees Cancel anytime No renewal surprises No annual hike
Honestly compared
Where each tool actually stands.
No straw men. RustDesk is open-source too — we say so. Parsec is genuinely fast. This is the fair version.
| Tethry | AnyDesk | TeamViewer | RustDesk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-host the relay | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Free, unlimited self-host | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| End-to-end encrypted | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open-source engine | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Browser client (no app store) | Yes | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| No per-device fees | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| No “commercial use” policing | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Polished, no-setup experience | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rough |
“Limited” on the browser-client row means web access exists but is gated — it requires the vendor’s own app or account, or is restricted to specific plans, rather than being a first-class browser client. Tethry is built on the RustDesk engine — so it inherits the privacy and ownership, and adds the polish and the hosted option RustDesk leaves to you. Comparison based on publicly documented features and pricing.
FAQ
The questions worth a straight answer.
Is it actually secure?
Yes — sessions are end-to-end encrypted between your devices. The relay in the middle forwards sealed packets it has no key to decrypt, so even a hosted relay (including ours) never sees your screen in the clear. Self-host the relay and the connection metadata stays on your hardware too. The engine is open-source, so the claim is auditable rather than promised.
Can I really self-host the whole thing?
Yes, and it’s free forever — no device limits, no account, no asterisk. You run the relay on your own server and connect your machines to it. That’s the default, not a downgrade. The hosted plans exist only for people who’d rather not run a server.
Does it work on iPhone?
Yes — through the browser. Open Safari, go to your Tethry address, and you’re controlling your desktop with no App Store install required. Same encrypted line, same full control, on the phone you already carry.
Is this really based on RustDesk?
Yes, proudly. Tethry is built on the open-source RustDesk engine, licensed under the AGPL. That open core is exactly why we can promise no lock-in and full self-hosting — you can read the code, run it yourself, and leave any time. We add the polish, the hosted relay option, and the browser experience on top. The source is right here.
Will you flag me for “commercial use”?
No. There is no commercial-use policing, no automated lockout, no email asking you to prove you’re a hobbyist. Use it for work, use it for home, use it for both. We sell hosting convenience, not permission to use your own computer.
What does it actually cost?
Self-hosting is $0, forever. Hosted Personal is $5/month for up to 10 of your devices; hosted Team is $12 per user per month with shared device groups. No per-device fees, no annual price hikes, and you can cancel in one click — no 28-day cancellation window.
Reach your machine. Keep your money.
One private line to your own computer, from any device — self-hosted for free, or hosted for $5 a month, cancel in one click. No toll booth at either end.
End-to-end encrypted Open-source engine Works in any browser