Now when users want a privacy-friendly messaging app, there are several options on Google Play Store and App Store.
Session is one of the most interesting options available. The app is a fork of Signal, but it improves and adds modifications to provide a private messaging experience.
But is it any good? Can you trust it? Why you should try this as your private messaging app to replace your existing solutions?
Can you rely on the session for messaging?
Sessions is available through the official app marketplace for both Android and iOS. It is also available for Windows, Linux and macOS desktop platforms.
Although it is not as popular as Signal and other messengers, Session is open-source, and you can find the source code in its GitHub repo. Furthermore, the app regularly undergoes security audits.
Session has been actively developed for some time and receives regular updates.
So, like any other open-source app, you need to be able to trust the app. The usability of the session is a different story, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a malicious app.
In any case, you should find out more about the history of the app and its developers if you don’t trust them yet.
Here’s Why You Should Try Sessions as a Private Messaging App
Sessions is an impressive messaging app focused on privacy and security. To some extent, it offers better privacy than Signal, and it also has a few things that set it apart from the competition.
Here, we mention some of the reasons why you should try sessions.
1. Phone number is not required
Your phone number is one of the most important pieces of information. It is associated with your conversation, and you must share it with other users if you want to communicate.
It doesn’t take long for an attacker to use a phone number to scam you or download malware. You do not need to register using your phone number for the session.
Therefore, you do not need to share your mobile number with other users, and your conversations are no longer associated with the number.
Instead, the session generates a random number (Session ID) when you sign up. You must copy it or note it down.
You’ll need the recovery phrase to recover your account or migrate conversations to a new device. Unlike phone numbers, you should be able to publicly share a session ID without hesitation when the need arises.
2. Free to use
As an exciting offering, the sessions are completely free to use without any hidden charges.
You can choose to make a donation to help the developers financially, but this is completely optional.
3. Open source in nature
As mentioned above, session is just like signal, where you can find its source code and audit it if needed.
Being an open-source solution, you get a chance to use an app that is transparent to its users and potentially safer than proprietary alternatives.
This also means that the session cannot expire. Anyone can fork the project and create their own version of Session if needed. You may even decide to experiment on it.
4. Decentralized Network
Unlike most other private messengers, Sessions does not rely on centralized servers. Therefore, a single point of failure will not affect its network.
Similar to Tor, sessions rely on a decentralized network, and for that reason, it can work well against censorship. Its network is harder to shut down than a service that relies on centralized servers like WhatsApp and Signal.
Note that the decentralized network may prove to be slow, but it is effective against outages and censorship.
5. IP Address Protection
Considering session is used decentralized network, your connection is routed through multiple points. So, your original IP address remains hidden.
The connection is similar to the Tor network, where you are connected to the network from multiple locations, which also hides your region of origin. Overall, it enhances your digital privacy from such technologies.
6. No Metadata
A major highlight of the session is the removal of any metadata associated with the messages you send.
Metadata can be anything like location/timestamp or any data about the device associated with the message. You don’t see it, but it’s there. Metadata can reveal a lot of information without you knowing it. And, the session claims to eliminate any metadata associated with the messages.