Jack Doresy shares second decentralized messaging app, White Noise

Yesterday, Jack Dorsey shared the website for a new decentralized messaging app called White Noise. This app differs from Bitchat, which he released for beta testing a few days earlier.

White Noise is built on Nostr—short for “Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays”—and uses the MLS (Messaging Layer Security) protocol.

Nostr is an open protocol for building decentralized social networks. It’s a transport protocol and the framework for the conversations in each chat. MLS treats messages as authenticated events in a tree-structured key agreement (TreeKEM) instead of using separate pairwise channels.

Both Bitchat and White Noise are decentralized and distributed, but Bitchat relies on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks while White Noise uses a network of independent relays that anyone can run. Bitchat can operate entirely offline, whereas White Noise depends on internet connectivity.

What makes White Noise highly secure?

Dorsey’s newest messaging app is open source, combining decentralized technologies, encryption, and peer-to-peer networking. This ensures users retain full control over their conversations. 

The messaging app has no single point of failure, making the network immune to shutdowns and control. This is because White Noise operates on a network of independent relays that forward messages between devices. Users have the freedom to choose between public and private relays operated by “trusted communities.” Tech-savvy users can self-host White Noise on private servers. Users who opt for private relays will incur minimal costs.

Dynamic encryption is enforced through the MLS protocol. Every message is end-to-end encrypted, and in the event of a breach, a post-compromise mechanism protects conversations. Hackers can’t access past messages thanks to “forward secrecy,” and future messages remain protected by “rotating encryption keys.”

If an internet service provider (ISP) captures traffic, it will see scrambled data because the MSL protocol encrypts metadata and reveals nothing about the message content. Moreover, the MSL protocol is capable of adopting advanced cryptographic algorithms, like quantum-resistant algorithms, without rebuilding the messaging application.

In addition, users can operate White Noise on multiple devices such as a phone, tablet, or computer. This is possible due to MLS’s “leaf nodes,” which deal with each device as a distinct participant during the encryption operation. 

The MSL protocol is capable of handling group chats with more than 1,000 members. Through optimizing key distribution, MSL reduces computation workload on devices. Nostr, on the other hand, routes messages efficiently. White Noise is “engineered for real-time performance” and built for speed and reliability.

According to the website, the messaging app is backed by OpenSats and Human Rights Foundation. OpenSats is a non-profit organization that provides support and funding to open-source projects that help accelerate Bitcoin adoption. White Noise is currently available for testing via Apple’s TestFlight, Android’s Zapstore, and an Android APK.

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