Oxen is a privacy-focused platform built on top of the Proof of Stake (PoS) network. He also created a secure and anonymous messaging platform.
The company’s CTO Key Jefferies spoke with Cointelegraph about the platform, the technology and how important privacy and data protection are to the end user.
1. Hey! Tell us about the bulls and the session.
OXEN is a privately installable cryptocurrency. Oxen Token (OXEN) has brought many innovations to the CryptoNote (CN) area, including instant transactions and a large-scale PoS system. However, the real magic is the network of service nodes. It supports a complete suite of decentralized privacy applications – all on the OXEN platform.
So far, our shining star is the session.
Session is an encrypted messaging program that tirelessly protects users’ privacy. You do not need telephone numbers, e-mail addresses or identifying information to register for a session. Messenger allows people to use the best parts of blockchain without having to run a node, store any cryptocurrency or even learn what a blockchain is. For this reason, it has already been officially approved and currently has over 200,000 active users. The app is available for free for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux.
2. What’s wrong with messaging giants like Messenger and WhatsApp?
Both Messenger and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook, a company known for collecting user data to sell to advertisers at the expense of end users ‘privacy, with very little effort to improve users’ privacy and security.
Here’s what we know about Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp:
Both are owned by Facebook.
They are closed source
They have end-to-end encryption
Their servers are central
Does not provide metadata protection.
WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are the world’s most popular messaging apps, which technically means that encrypted messaging apps are the most popular form of communication. However, there is uncertainty about the implementation of end-to-end encryption in WhatsApp, since the closed source code makes it impossible to control the quality of the encryption.
In addition, the central servers used by WhatsApp give them a central fault point. Apps like Session built on a decentralized web may be more resilient to attack and have less downtime.
3. How does the session plan to move in this competitive space?
The main focus at the beginning of the session was to reach out to journalists, activists and NGOs to test the application and provide feedback.
The encrypted platform is now used all the way from Boston to Baghdad by more than 200,000 people in over 200 countries. Activists, journalists and human rights defenders trust the session to communicate safely and effectively and continue to do their core work. Users can talk to friends and family without worrying about whether the call is safe or not.
4. Why is anonymity important in messages?
Anonymity is confidentiality, and according to the UN, confidentiality is a human right that everyone should have – see Article 12 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
All over the world, people are being persecuted for their opinions, beliefs and conversations. And even if it’s not your job, anyone who posts on social media these days can be a detective, activist or revolutionary. This opens up a lot of people to target and makes anonymity a big issue for everyone on the Internet.
5. How many people are currently using the session?
According to the latest estimates, the session has been downloaded over 500,000 times and currently has over 200,000 active users every month. Due to the decentralized nature of the session, we can not see the exact number of users we have. Apps like WhatsApp and Telegram have access to more accurate information about the number of users and actions.
6. What paid premium features does the session offer?
We firmly believe that the core functionality of the app – a hardcore private messenger – should remain free. Secure messaging is a very difficult task, and the revenue generation features we add should enhance the app’s user experience, not be limited to a payment wall.
However, some of the paid features Session may offer in the future:
Bull Name Service Permanent usernames
Increase the size of a closed group
Increase the size of the transferred file
group call
Simplified open group setup
Register and manage multiple accounts
