Session (software)

Session

Screenshot of Session version 1.11.10 on Android (October 2021)

Developer(s)| The Oxen Project
Initial release| February 2020; 6 years ago (2020-02)
Stable release(s) [±]
| Android| 1.16.1 / October 25, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-10-25)

|

iOS| 2.2.4 / December 1, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-12-01)
Desktop| 1.10.4 / November 7, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-11-07)
Repository| github.com/oxen-io/session-android/
Operating system|

* Android 6 or above
* iOS 12 or above
* Windows
* MacOS
* Linux

Type| Instant messaging
License| BSD-3-Clause
MIT
GPL-3.0
Website| getsession.org

Session is a cross-platform end-to-end encrypted instant messaging application developed by The Oxen Project under the non-profit Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation (OPTF). It uses decentralized network for transmission. Users can send one-to-one and group messages, which can include files, voice notes, images and videos.[1][2] It also includes oxen cryptocurrency.

Session was forked in 2019 from Signal software.[3] It is open-source and published under the BSD-3-Clause, GPL-3.0 and MIT licenses.[4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Features
* 3 Limitations
* 4 Platforms
* 5 Technical
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## History

Session software development was started in 2019 under the umbrella of OPTF (formerly Loki Foundation), an Australian-based non-profit private technology organization. It was forked from the open-source Signal software. The first general version was released across platforms in February 2020.[5][6]

## Features

The Session does not require a telephone number or email address to create an account.[7] It uses a randomly generated 66-digit alpha-numeric number for user creation/identification. Communication (messages, voice clips, photos, and files) between users is end-to-end encrypted using the session protocol, a derivative of the signal protocol. A Tor-like decentralised server network (Oxen Service Nodes) also known as Loki blockchain,[8] is used by Session for transmissions that do not store, track, or log the metadata of user messages.[9] Device IP addresses are never exposed to other users or to servers holding user data. Support up to 100 people in an end-to-end encrypted group chat. Furthermore, it is completely open-source and security checked by third parties.[10][11][12]

Session integrates oxen a cryptocurrency.[13]

## Limitations

Session does not support Two-factor authentication. Underlying protocols are still in a developmental phase. Support for multiple devices is still not entirely flawless. Moreover, no support for voice and video calls.[10][11]

## Platforms

Session software is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux platforms. Users can download the App from their respective stores or GitHub. The Android customer requires Android 6 or above to launch the app. iOS consumers need iOS 12 or later to run the app.[14][15][16]

## Technical

The Session uses the Oxen service nodes to communicate. These nodes are a group of distributed, decentralised and sybil-resistant nodes that are operated by the community and make the Oxen network. There are currently more than a thousand nodes in the Oxen network. These service nodes are responsible for the storage and routing of your session messages that scramble the IP addresses of users.[17][18]

## References

1. ↑ "Session Is An Encrypted Messenger Geared Towards Privacy Enthusiasts" (in en). https://gadgets.ndtv.com/cryptocurrency/news/session-private-blockchain-messenger-decentralised-nodes-2568208.
2. ↑ Das, Ankush. "Session: A Private Messenger That Doesn't Need Phone Number" (in en-US). https://itsfoss.com/session-messenger/.
3. ↑ "Release 1.0.0-alpha.1 · oxen-io/session-android" (in en). https://github.com/oxen-io/session-android/releases/tag/1.0.0-alpha.1.
4. ↑ "Oxen" (in en). https://github.com/oxen-io.
5. ↑ "Release 1.0.0 · oxen-io/session-android" (in en). https://github.com/oxen-io/session-android/releases/tag/1.0.0.
6. ↑ "Rebranding Loki Messenger - Loki .network Blog" (in en-US). 2019-12-13. https://loki.network/2019/12/13/rebranding-loki-messenger/.
7. ↑ "8 Reasons to Try Session as a Private Messaging App" (in en-US). 2022-02-10. https://www.makeuseof.com/why-try-session-private-messenger/.
8. ↑ "New WhatsApp Alternative "Session" Works Without Your Phone Number" (in en-US). 2020-03-09. https://fossbytes.com/open-source-messenger-session-doesnt-even-need-your-phone-number/.
9. ↑ Mehta, Ivan (2021-05-04). "This messenger app doesn’t use a phone number to keep your data private" (in en). https://thenextweb.com/news/this-messenger-app-doesnt-use-a-phone-number-to-keep-your-data-private.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Session Messenger Review - Best Secure Messaging App?" (in en-US). https://restoreprivacy.com/secure-encrypted-messaging-apps/session/.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Li₿εʁLiøη (2021-07-13). "Session Messenger. Review" (in en). https://liberlion.medium.com/session-messenger-review-d73f99c9860d.
12. ↑ Oxen Session Audit Technical Report. Quarkslab SAS. 2021. https://blog.quarkslab.com/resources/2021-05-04_audit-of-session-secure-messaging-application/20-08-Oxen-REP-v1.4.pdf.
13. ↑ "No outages, no data leaks: The new WhatsApp killer built on the blockchain creates privacy-focused encrypted messenger" (in en). https://cointelegraph.com/news/no-outages-no-data-leaks-the-new-whatsapp-killer-built-on-the-blockchain-creates-privacy-focused-encrypted-messenger.
14. ↑ Session Desktop, Oxen, 2021-10-08, https://github.com/oxen-io/session-desktop, retrieved 2021-10-11
15. ↑ "Session - Private Messenger - Overview - Google Play Store - US". https://sensortower.com/android/us/oxen-project/app/session-private-messenger/network.loki.messenger/overview.
16. ↑ "Session - Private Messenger - Overview - Apple App Store - US". https://sensortower.com/ios/us/the-loki-project/app/session-private-messenger/1470168868/overview.
17. ↑ Jefferys, Kee; Shishmarev, Maxim; Harman, Simon (2020). Session: A Model for End-To-End Encrypted Conversations With Minimal Metadata Leakage. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2002.04609.pdf.
18. ↑ Session iOS, Oxen, 2021-10-11, https://github.com/oxen-io/session-ios, retrieved 2021-10-11

## External links

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Cryptographic software

Email clients|

* Apple Mail
* Autocrypt
* Claws Mail
* Enigmail
* GPG (Gpg4win)
* Kontact
* Outlook
* p≡p
* PGP
* Sylpheed
* Thunderbird

Secure
communication|

| OTR|

* Adium
* BitlBee
* Centericq
* ChatSecure
* climm
* Jitsi
* Kopete
* MCabber
* Profanity

|

SSH|

* Dropbear
* lsh
* OpenSSH
* PuTTY
* SecureCRT
* WinSCP
* wolfSSH

TLS & SSL|

* Bouncy Castle
* BoringSSL
* Botan
* cryptlib
* GnuTLS
* JSSE
* LibreSSL
* MatrixSSL
* NSS
* OpenSSL
* mbed TLS
* RSA BSAFE
* SChannel
* SSLeay
* stunnel
* wolfSSL

VPN|

* Check Point VPN-1
* Hamachi
* Openswan
* OpenVPN
* SoftEther VPN
* strongSwan
* Tinc
* WireGuard

ZRTP|

* CSipSimple
* Jitsi
* Linphone
* Jami
* Zfone

P2P|

* Bitmessage
* RetroShare
* Tox

DRA|

* Matrix
* OMEMO
* Conversations
* Cryptocat
* ChatSecure
* Proteus
* Signal Protocol
* Google Allo
* Facebook Messenger
* Signal
* TextSecure
* WhatsApp

Disk encryption
(Comparison)|

* BestCrypt
* BitLocker
* CrossCrypt
* Cryptoloop
* DiskCryptor
* dm-crypt
* DriveSentry
* E4M
* eCryptfs
* FileVault
* FreeOTFE
* GBDE
* geli
* LUKS
* PGPDisk
* Private Disk
* Scramdisk
* Sentry 2020
* TrueCrypt
* History
* VeraCrypt

Anonymity|

* GNUnet
* I2P
* Java Anon Proxy
* Tor
* Vidalia
* RetroShare
* Ricochet
* Wickr

File systems (List)|

* EncFS
* EFS
* eCryptfs
* LUKS
* PEFS
* Rubberhose
* StegFS
* Tahoe-LAFS

Service providers|

* Freenet
* Tresorit
* Wuala

Educational|

* CrypTool

Related topics|

* Outline of cryptography
* Timeline of cryptography
* Hash functions
* Cryptographic hash function
* List of hash functions
* S/MIME

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Instant messaging

Protocols
(comparison)|

| Open|

* IMPP
* IRC
* Matrix
* MTProto
* RetroShare
* Signal Protocol
* SIP
* MSRP
* SIMPLE
* Tox
* XMPP
* Jingle
* WFP
* Zephyr
* DDP

|

Closed|

* MSNP
* OSCAR
* TOC
* Skype

Services|

* Band
* BBM
* Discord
* Facebook Messenger
* FireChat
* GroupMe
* Hike Messenger
* HipChat
* ICQ
* iGap
* iMessage
* IRC Networks
* Jongla
* KakaoTalk
* Kik
* Libon
* Line
* Marco Polo
* Palringo
* Signal
* Skype
* Slack
* Snapchat
* SNOW
* Tango
* Telegram
* QQ
* Textfree/Pinger
* The Palace
* Threema
* Tox
* Trillian
* Upptalk
* Viber
* Virtual Places Chat
* WeChat
* WhatsApp
* Wickr
* Windows Messenger service
* Yahoo Together
* Zulip

Clients
(comparison)|

| Single protocol|

* Allo
* Baidu Hi
* BBM
* CSipSimple
* Facebook Messenger
* FaceTime
* Fetion
* Gadu-Gadu
* GroupMe
* IBM Sametime
* ICQ
* IMVU
* Jami
* Jongla
* Linphone
* Palringo
* RetroShare
* Ricochet
* Riot.im
* Signal
* Skype
* Telegram
* Tencent QQ
* Tox
* WeChat
* WhatsApp
* Wickr
* Wire

|

Multi-protocol|

* Adium
* Ayttm
* BitlBee
* Centericq
* eBuddy
* Empathy
* Fire
* Instantbird
* Jitsi
* Kopete
* Messages/iChat
* Miranda IM
* Nimbuzz
* Pidgin
* QIP 2010
* Skype for Business
* Trillian
* Telepathy
* Upptalk

XMPP (Jabber)|

* Bombus
* ChatSecure
* Conversations
* Gajim
* Psi
* Tkabber
* Spark

MSNP|

* aMSN
* Skype

Defunct|

* List of defunct instant messaging platforms

See also|

* Backchannel
* Chat log
* Chatbot
* Contact list
* Emoticon
* File sharing
* Instant message service center
* LAN messenger
* Messaging apps
* Presence information
* Shoutbox
* SMS language
* Status message
* Videotelephony
* Voice over IP
* Webcam
* U-Report
* Web chat
* Circuit
* FirstClass
* Flock
* Fuze Box
* Glip
* Hall.com
* Yammer

Category:Cross-platform software Category:Cryptographic software Category:Free instant messaging clients Category:Free security software Category:Free software programmed in Java (programming language) Category:Instant messaging clients programmed in Java Category:Internet privacy software Category:IOS software Category:Secure communication

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