Status version 1 is live—combining a peer-to-peer messenger, cryptocurrency wallet, and Ethereum-enabled browser into a single decentralized, private and secure communication and payment tool for both iOS and Android.
If you are a beta tester, please read these instructions before you install as you may need to backup your seed phrase to protect your funds!
After nearly a year of more quiet and focused development, we’ve restructured the core application, built out the promises of the white paper and prepared the app for a future in which the Status Network seeks to deliver on the promises of Ethereum at large.
While the core mobile application is no longer the sole focus of the Status Network, it is integral to our dream of a decentralized web. With Status, we're building not just a tool for private and secure communication, but a gateway into an emerging ecosystem of distributed applications that embodies what is possible with decentralized technologies today. We believe apps like Status represent the future of the web—enabling an internet that can uphold human rights, and providing a path toward more open and equitable systems.
Today, the underpinnings of the core application are still tethered to the Ethereum stack. Whisper is still the communication layer of Status, and Status is still the only production use case of Whisper. The scalability of Whisper has not significantly improved from what it was roughly three years ago, when we first embarked on this project.
But we feel ready to share our progress with the world. Status version 1 launches with new SNT utility features, like a sticker marketplace and a decentralized DApp directory. Other white paper features, such as the fiat-to-crypto Teller Network and incentivized messaging with Tribute to Talk, are also underway.
Most pressingly, we’re working to remedy the limitations of Whisper. In a forthcoming release, we’ll introduce new mailservers that will reduce the amount of bandwidth Status consumes—an important point for accessibility—and extend the capabilities of our nodes so that Status can support more concurrent users. Learn more about Status v1 features and tech stack in this Status Mobile App v1 Reviewers Guide.
Get Status v1
Before you install Status version 1, please make sure you have backed up your beta seed phrase.
If you have any funds in your beta wallet, and you do not have your seed phrase, you need to transfer them to another, secure wallet before you upgrade. If you don't back up your seed phrase or transfer your funds, they will be lost!
You also want to delete previous beta versions of Status before installing v1. This is very important for guaranteeing the best performance possible. For more information on breaking changes between beta and v1, see this post.
Without further ado:
v1 change log
Added
• Support for multiple Ethereum wallets within one Status account
• Generate unlimited additional BIP 44 wallets in Status
• Add watch-only addresses as well
• Brand new onboarding and key encryption flow
• Choose your random name and public chat key during onboarding
• You also can recover a seed phrase from any mnemonic compatible wallet
• Improvements to wallet transaction flow UI
• Sticker market and two initial sticker packs
• Choice of wallet to use when interacting with Dapps
• Proper markdown support
• ENS username setting option for use in chat
• Improved chat intro screen and public chat list
• Updated chat command flow, with additional privacy layer to be compatible with multiaccount
Removed
• Custom display names
• Custom profile photos, temporarily—photos will become a feature of ENS
• Push notifications—these will be improved and reintroduced for Android
• Group chat, temporarily—fixes to be prioritized for v1.1
• Google Firebase database and Realm.js DB—performance gains, and more in line with our principles (fewer third party services)
Changed
• Algorithm for deriving public chat key changed
• Storage of app state moved to Status-go—performance improvements in chat load times
• Browser privacy mode enabled by default, option removed (EIP1102)
• Updates to EIP1102 for compatibility (https://github.com/status-im/status-react/pull/9629)
• Protocol breaking changes: removed transit encoding in favor of protobuf, for better performance and interoperability with other languages
• Roughly 45% improvement in how quickly chats load
• Profile screen cleaned up
