Lemmy Today

Hello, is the network connection to the SimpleX network made same way as in Session messenger (single point of failure in the form of several seed/bootstrap nodes "hardocded" in the client software, the nodes which hostnames/IPs can be blocked on ISP/government firewalls) ?

If you know any detail on how it works, please link. Thank you

SimpleX Chat is an instant messenger that is decentralized and doesn't depend on any unique identifiers such as phone numbers or usernames. Users of SimpleX Chat can scan a QR code or click an invite link to participate in group conversations.

-privacyguides.org

It's clearly proving to be the most innovative technology when it comes to decentralized communication, in my opinion.

This is pretty cool and one of the top comments on Hacker News describes it the best:

It's easier to understand this if you look at the onion protocol. Broadly, it introduces noise between all users on the network by constantly sending and receiving random bytes to and from each node. This prevents external listeners from figuring out where the main server is. Originally designed to protect naval command ships, it was later used for the "dark web". If you don't know which node is the server, you can't shut it down, or read data off of it. Simplex does something similar. A connects to B. B connects to C. And A and C connect. They all chat. but there is no way to know A, B, or C, because from the outside, it all looks like: X connects to Y, X connects to Y, X connects to Y. So who spoke to whom? This is great. Even if "the authorities" demand access to chat logs, first, they won't know what to ask for. Chats between whom? Second, they still won't know who spoke to whom even if they have all the data. It's anonymized chats. They would have to sift through all of it. It still won't prevent someone invading privacy if they have physical access to your device, since the identities are stored locally for your usage convenience.

Hacker News discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105477

[ comments | sourced from HackerNews ]

I have found this app pretty well-made and useful. Please give it a try ✌.

Construtive criticism is welcome as usual !

Security assessment was done by Trail of Bits in November 2022.

SimpleX Chat features:

• end-to-end encrypted messages, with editing, replies and deletion of messages.

• sending end-to-end encrypted images and files.

• single-use and long-term user addresses.

• secret chat groups - only group members know it exists and who is the member.

• end-to-end encrypted audio and video calls.

• private instant notifications.

• portable chat profile - you can transfer your chat contacts and history to another device (terminal or mobile).

SimpleX Chat advantages:

Full privacy of your identity, profile, contacts and metadata: unlike any other existing messaging platform, SimpleX uses no phone numbers or any other identifiers assigned to the users - not even random numbers. This protects the privacy of who you are communicating with, hiding it from SimpleX platform servers and from any observers.

Complete protection against spam and abuse: as you have no identifier on SimpleX platform, you cannot be contacted unless you share a one-time invitation link or an optional temporary user address.

Full ownership, control and security of your data: SimpleX stores all user data on client devices, the messages are only held temporarily on SimpleX relay servers until they are received.

Decentralized network: you can use SimpleX with your own servers and still communicate with people using the servers that are pre-configured in the apps or any other SimpleX servers.

You can connect to anybody you know via link or scan QR code (in the video call or in person) and start sending messages instantly - no emails, phone numbers or passwords needed.

Your profile and contacts are only stored in the app on your device - our servers do not have access to this information.

All messages are end-to-end encrypted using open-source double-ratchet protocol; the messages are routed via our servers using open-source SimpleX Messaging Protocol.