Decentralized Messaging

Jan 5, 2026

Kee Jeffreys, CEO and founder of the privacy-focused Session app, dives into the intriguing world of decentralized messaging. He explains how Session operates without phone numbers and relies on a network of nodes for security. Jeffreys discusses the importance of protecting metadata, the benefits of open source software, and how features like Perfect Forward Secrecy and post-quantum encryption enhance user privacy. He also highlights why privacy matters to everyone, as well as the innovative economic model behind the Session network.

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INSIGHT

Three Pillars Of Session's Privacy

Session combines cryptographic IDs, a decentralized node network, and onion routing to reduce metadata leakage.
Kee Jeffreys argues those three features together uniquely protect privacy compared with centralized messengers.

ANECDOTE

Relocation And Decentralized Resilience

Kee describes moving stewardship into the Session Technology Foundation in Switzerland after pressure in Australia.
He says decentralization plus open source makes it hard for legal coercion to force secret changes.

ADVICE

Treat Messaging Data As At-Risk

Protect your conversations because data breaches make leaked messages exploitable and persistent.
Kee recommends using privacy-preserving apps like Session if you've been caught in breaches or want to limit long-term exposure.

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Get the app

There are a ton of messaging apps on the market – and there are actually quite a few that are very secure and private. I would argue that there is no such thing as a “perfect” secure messaging app. There are several threat models to account for, each with different requirements. Today we’re going to talk about the pros and cons of decentralized messaging with the co-founder of Session, Kee Jeffreys. These messaging apps don’t rely on a set of servers hosted by the provider, but rather on a mesh of nodes run by hundreds or thousands of others. We’ll also discuss the importance of protecting metadata and the notion of “permissionless access”. Session just announced support for key features in the upcoming version 2 of their protocol, including Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) and post-quantum encryption.

Interview Notes

Get the Session app: https://getsession.org/
Session adds PFS, post-quantum crypto: https://getsession.org/blog/session-protocol-v2
xkcd $5 wrench (“Security”): https://xkcd.com/538/

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