Living and working in Web3 can often feel bleak and disheartening. It’s easy to forget why decentralization was envisioned in the first place. Why we all jumped onboard years ago, hoping to change this world run by bad actors with unlimited, printed capital and the power to invade and track our data, finances, behaviour, and through that, influence and control us. Yes, believe it or not, that's how it all started. We've veered so far from that idea in recent years, with those very same bad actors recognizing the importance and potential of decentralized infrastructure, that they decided to infiltrate and dilute the essence of what we started building. It is currently hard to shut out the noise and filter through the pile of junk they've managed to amass, again through the use of their unlimited capital. 

But once in a while, something quietly exceptional slips through the noise. Something that isn’t about yield, hype, or market cap. It’s just good software, built with principle, delivered with care and without fanfare. That’s what makes Session so important (@session_app on X).

You’ve probably never used it. You might not have even heard of it. But it’s arguably one of the most honest applications of Web3 technology to date. A messaging app with no phone numbers, no emails, no user tracking, and no catch.

At a time when most “decentralized” apps still lean on AWS servers and require your full identity to use them, Session reminds us that Web3 is about building infrastructure that respects people.

So why isn’t anyone talking about it?

The App That Doesn’t Want to Know You

Session simply lets you communicate with others. No sign-up forms, no personal info, no cookie consent banners. You open it, it generates a cryptographically secure identity for you, an Account ID, and you’re off. You search for others by their address and communicate freely.

When I first tried it, I found it hard to believe that a username is all it wants from me. I kept expecting the app to ask me for more information in the next step, but there never was a next step. It just let me connect. That feeling reminded me of why I got into blockchain and Web3 in the first place. It’s called freedom.

This is radical. Not because it’s technically complex (though it is), but because it refuses the modern internet’s foundational trade: access in exchange for surveillance.

Most apps promise privacy. Session embodies it.

Built from the start on the Oxen Service Node Network, Session spent four years proving that decentralized, metadata-resistant messaging could actually work. But as Session evolved, so did its vision, and its architecture. As of May 21st, 2025, Session has fully migrated to its own network: the Session Network.

Built for Session, By Session

The Oxen Network was foundational, but confusing. Was Session a privacy coin? Was it a wallet? Was it a messenger? Users, developers, and newcomers alike struggled to explain the relationship between Oxen and Session.

So the team made the bold move to unify everything under one name: Session. The messenger, the nodes, the token, now they all speak the same language.

The Session Network is a purpose-built decentralized network designed exclusively to support and amplify Session. It makes onboarding easier, running nodes simpler, and integrates smoothly with emerging blockchain infrastructure.

Session remains a decentralized, onion-routed messenger using a globally distributed swarm of nodes to route and store messages. But now, these nodes are Session Nodes, secured by Session Token instead of Oxen. The principles haven’t changed. The technology has been upgraded.

The People Moving It Forward

Session is developed and maintained by a team with a clear mandate: build and operate infrastructure that prioritises privacy, decentralisation, and resilience.

Simon Harman contributed to the project’s early architecture during its time as Loki, helping define the technical standards that would evolve into the Session Network. Josh Jessop-Smith has supported both engineering and operational aspects of Session’s transition from Oxen to its standalone network, focusing on system integrity and platform consistency. Kee J. oversees ongoing strategy and execution, helping align long-term priorities with the operational realities of decentralised systems. Chris McCabe has played a lead role in shaping the messaging protocol and implementation layers, contributing across multiple components of the core client and network codebase.

The work is iterative, infrastructure-oriented, and focused on function over optics. These are the people ensuring the system runs as intended, without compromising the principles it set out to protect.

Introducing Session Token

The Session Network is powered by a new cryptocurrency: Session Token. It is the fuel for the Session ecosystem, staking the nodes, rewarding service, and enabling future sustainability. Unlike Oxen, Session Token is Ethereum-compatible, opening up powerful possibilities.

Want to operate a node? Stake Session Token. Want to support the network? Use Session Token for premium features. Want to build on top of the infrastructure? Leverage its open, permissionless foundations.

Importantly: you don’t need Session Token to use Session. The app remains 100% free, with no fees, no subscriptions, and no paywalls for core features.

Session Token isn’t a privacy coin, but thanks to Ethereum’s expanding privacy tooling, it can interface with privacy-preserving protocols like zk-rollups and stealth addresses. While Oxen’s theoretical privacy was never broadly realized, Session Token unlocks practical, usable privacy through real-world interoperability.

And when used in-app for features like Session Pro, Session Token flows directly back to the network programmatically, no middlemen, no centralized control, no STF overhead. Sustainability without compromise.

Still Onion-Routed, Still Sovereign

Session messages are onion-routed through three random nodes. Node A knows you sent a message, but not to whom. Node C knows a message was received, but not where it came from. Node B just knows it's passing something along.

No single node can piece together who said what to whom, or when. And no metadata, identity, or IP addresses are stored anywhere. This means Session is not just encrypted; it’s surveillance-resistant by design.

And because it’s open source, anyone can audit it. No backdoors, no secrets. Just a transparent protocol with a clear mission: protect user privacy.

Signal, Telegram, and the UX Question

Session doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s up against giants.

Signal offers end-to-end encryption, open-source code, and wide adoption. But it still requires a phone number. It still centralizes metadata. And while it's more trustworthy than Big Tech incumbents, it lives in a halfway house of privacy.

Telegram, meanwhile, is sleek, feature-rich, and ubiquitous in the crypto world. But it's not end-to-end encrypted by default. It stores metadata. It makes it easy for states and bad actors to gather information if they need to. And despite its branding, it's not truly private.

Session is different. It cuts out all assumptions about who you are, and builds a system where your identity, location, and relationships are never collected in the first place.

Of course, Session sacrifices UX for principle (for now). Signal may be faster. Telegram is flashier. But Session is sovereign. And that matters.

The dApp You Should Be Talking About

There are hundreds of projects in Web3 that promise to “revolutionize communication.” Most of them start with a pitch deck, a token, and a Discord server that goes dead in six months.

Session did it the other way around: it shipped, it scaled quietly, it stuck to its values, and it works.

In a space plagued by broken promises and performative decentralization, Session is refreshing and makes me hopeful that we're not just slinging soy burgers, oat milk, and pickled cauliflower here in Web3. There's actually some red meat for those who prefer their decentralization rare and private.

So if you’re tired of the noise, the grift, the meta-layers of governance tokens on top of broken tech, try Session. It won’t ask who you are. It’ll just let you speak.