Private messaging via Session w/ Kee Jefferys

Opt Out

Looking to explore alternatives to Signal and heard of Session, but not sure what sets it apart? This episode, we're sitting down with Kee Jefferys, CTO of Session, to chat about their Session messenger and it's approaches to chat, encryption, and network privacy.

More about Kee Jefferys:

• Kee's guest profile -- https://optoutpod.com/guests/kee-jefferys/

More about Session:

• Website -- https://getsession.org/
• Twitter -- https://twitter.com/session_app
• Github -- https://github.com/oxen-io
• Non-profit behind Session -- https://optf.ngo/
• Running an OXEN node -- https://docs.oxen.io/using-the-oxen-blockchain/oxen-service-node-guides/full-service-node-setup-guide

Opt Out's Sponsors:

• Cake Wallet, an easy to use Monero mobile wallet -- https://optoutpod.com/sponsors/#cake-wallet
• LocalMonero, an excellent and privacy-preserving way to buy and sell Monero -- https://optoutpod.com/sponsors/#localmonero
• IVPN, an ethical, no-nonsense, non-logging VPN provider -- https://optoutpod.com/sponsors/#ivpn

Supporting Opt Out:

• Donations -- https://optoutpod.com/about/#donations
• Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform, if possible!
• Share it with your friends, family, and other communities!

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Chapters

1. Private messaging via Session w/ Kee Jefferys (00:00:00)

2. Kee introduces himself and what Session does (00:01:32)

3. What was it that woke you up to the need for personal privacy? (00:03:40)

4. What prompted the creation of Session? (00:05:25)

5. What makes Session better/unique compared to alternatives like Signal or Threema? (00:07:48)

6. Why is a decentralized network useful when all messages are E2EE? (00:12:04)

7. How does Session's Onion-routing compare in approach and practical privacy to Tor? (00:15:13)

8. How does the Session team monitor or mitigate Sybil attacks? (00:22:03)

9. Why did you migrate off of Signal's privacy protocol to your own? (00:29:14)

10. How does Session's approach to message and metadata encryption compare to Signal? (00:32:46)

11. A shoutout to Opt Out's sponsors (00:41:36)

12. What are some limitations users should be aware of? (00:43:01)

13. What are the best ways to bootstrap new users onto the network without contact discovery? (00:46:39)

14. What settings or features should listeners take a look at or become familiar with when starting to use Session? (00:48:46)

15. Is there a way that listeners can self-host Session nodes? What benefits are there for them and the network if they do? (00:51:47)

16. What are the legal attack vectors for governments and how is Session mitigating them (as they are a legal entity)? Can Session live on without your team? (00:55:24)

17. Are Session builds reproducible to allow full verification of the app? (00:58:01)

18. Why is a token necessary for Session, and what percentage of supply/issuance does your team get? (01:00:46)

19. Are there concerns with the combination of foundation reward and PoS leading to centralization? (01:06:09)

20. Does the publishing of view keys allow the community to audit how many OXEN nodes are being run by the foundation? (01:07:48)

21. How can listeners help support what you're doing with Session? (01:09:24)