Status Launches Private Peer-to-Peer Messaging Protocol

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iOS and Android app brings benefits of blockchain to regions with unreliable payments systems, censorship, and surveillance

Zug, Switzerland – April 7, 2020 –  The Status Network, a blockchain infrastructure builder, has released version 1.2 of its flagship consumer mobile application, the Status App. This update to the secure peer-to-peer messenger, Web3 browser, and crypto wallet arrives less than two months after the version 1.0 release and introduces Waku, a fork of the Whisper peer-to-peer messaging protocol. Waku can handle ten times as many daily active users as Whisper before bandwidth consumption becomes an issue, and with upcoming releases Status expects to push this number even further.

Status messaging employs a peer-to-peer protocol, rather than a standard client-server model, to ensure better privacy, user data ownership, and resistance to censorship. Whisper was originally designed as the peer-to-peer messaging layer of the Ethereum stack. However, with general scalability a growing challenge and much of the Ethereum ecosystem's efforts and resources focused on Eth1.X and Eth2.0, Status willingly picked the Messaging mantle and began work on its own implementation of Whisper.

The team quickly realized that Whisper presented a number of design issues; most immediately when it comes to scalability and bandwidth usage. The Status Network’s Vac team took quick action to address these shortcomings.

Oskar Thorén, Head of Engineering at Status Network, said:

“Whisper was originally the messaging pillar for Web3. However it had many shortcomings, especially for running on mobile. With Waku, we are evolving the protocol to address many of these shortcomings and make it much better suited for running on mobile phones, especially when it comes to users with a limited data plan. There is still a lot of work to be done, and this is just the first step. Stay tuned for future updates.”

The Status App is available on iOS and Android. The app provides seamless access to a peer-to-peer messenger with private and public channels, a secure crypto wallet, and secure Web3 browser.

To download the Status App for free, visit the Google Play or the App Store. For developers, Status Network infrastructure is open source and available everywhere through Status.im/docs. Find release notes for version 1.2 here.

About The Status Network

The Status Network is a globally distributed collective working to build products, tools and infrastructure for resilient, sustainable and inclusive communities:

  • At the product layer, the Network includes Status App for communication, Keycard for an open payment network, and decentralized financial tools including Assemble and Teller.
  • At the developer tools layer, the Network supports Embark and Subspace to help developers build decentralized applications.
  • At the infrastructure layer, The Status Network supports Vac, an R&D initiative creating a modular, peer-to-peer messaging stack for private, secure, censorship-resistant communication. It also includes Nimbus, which focuses on lightweight Ethereum2.0 clients for mobile phones and resource-restricted devices.

The Status Network team is working to combat financial and political oppression using blockchain and other emerging technologies.