Brief Summary of the Nym × Session Call: Private Messaging, Metadata, and the Battle with Regulators
Guests:
The Session team — a decentralized messenger without phone numbers 
, with 1.2M active users 
.
Key Topics:
- How is Session better than Signal/Telegram?
No phone numbers — anonymous IDs (
public key) instead of SIM binding.
Onion routing (like Tor) — hides IP addresses 
.
2,200 nodes — decentralization against censorship 
.- Spam protection: no global contact list, uses “message requests”
.
- Metadata is the main enemy
- Telegram/Signal servers see who, when, and to whom you write
, even if messages are encrypted 
. - Session’s solution:
- Messages pass through 3 random nodes (
like Tor). - “Blinded” IDs — cannot link actions to identities
.
- Messages pass through 3 random nodes (
- Why did they leave Australia?
→:switzerland:
The TOLA Act 2018 allows authorities to demand encryption backdoors.- “Australia is a testing ground for anti-privacy laws. Switzerland is safer for now”
.
- How to counter the “Privacy = for criminals” meme?
- “99% of users are ordinary people
. Banning privacy tools because of 1% is like banning cars because criminals drive them” 
. - Example: China
, Russia 
, and Iran 
already block Session — proving its effectiveness 
.
- Plans for 2025
- Transition from private Oxen token to ERC-20 ( user-friendly).
- Faster onion routing (LokiNet
). - Localization into 79 languages
(via Crowdin).
What’s next?
Collaborations with Nym 
, new anti-censorship tools (e.g., circumvention via refraction networking 
).
Links:
- Website: getsession.org
- Call recording: YouTube
“Without privacy, there is no freedom” 
P.S. Want to try Session? Download here 
— your phone number stays private.