Lab updates are published in the first week of every month. They report on the previous month's development efforts across the Session ecosystem.
It's safe to say that May was Session's biggest month yet! Session Token (SESH) is live, a new Session Network page is rolling out across all platforms, and Session Pro Beta is on the horizon. This update covers everything from token launch completion to the upcoming Lokinet integration for iOS, plus the latest app improvements and roadmap developments.
🪙 Session Token
🚀 SESH Launch Complete
SESH officially launched on May 21, 2025, marking a significant milestone for the Session ecosystem. The token is now live on both Ethereum and Arbitrum One networks, with liquidity pools active on Uniswap for both networks.
🔒 Staking Goes Live
The new Session Staking Portal was fully operational on mainnet since May 22. SESH holders can participate in network security and earn rewards by staking their SESH tokens and running nodes.
Prior to TGE, contributors completed several critical fixes to ensure a smooth staking experience. These included final bug fixes, implementing separate display of rewards from reclaimed stakes, adding confirmation steps to the registration process, and incorporating additional user warnings throughout the staking and exit processes to keep users fully informed of each action's implications. So far, feedback on the mainnet Staking Portal experience has been great!
⚡ Portal Power-Ups
An upcoming Staking Portal release will introduce enhanced features including dedicated address pages for viewing wallet activities, improved visibility of node contributors and operators, ENS (Ethereum Name Service) lookup functionality, automatic network switching prompts for Arbitrum One, improved tooltips with better formatting, and enhanced wallet networking stability.
🔄 OXEN Migration Completed
At TGE, Oxen Service Node operators and contributors had their nodes and stakes automatically migrated to the Session Network, with excess SESH available for claiming through the Staking Portal. OXEN holders also have access to a dedicated claims portal that allows conversions from OXEN to SESH at a rate of 1 OXEN = 0.54 SESH for the first six months, after which the rate decreases to 1 OXEN = 0.37 SESH. Despite the highly complex nature of the migration, the process was smooth with no impact or downtime on Session app users!
🔧 Network Tune-Ups
Following TGE, Session node software upgrade 11.3.2 was released to address stability issues identified after the network migration. The update includes critical fixes for deadlocks that could cause nodes to hang, improved reliability of pulse quorum validation for Arbitrum events, and enhanced robustness against L2 provider failures. Default L2 provider settings were also adjusted to improve compatibility with free tier offerings, including reduced maximum logs requests and increased update cooldowns to avoid rate limiting. The release additionally resolved RPC response issues affecting Session clients and fixed bugs related to node cleanup and signature collection for claiming and unlocking operations. Node operators were strongly encouraged to upgrade immediately to maintain network stability.
An upcoming mandatory node software upgrade and hardfork is in preparation to provide permanent fixes for remaining network issues and return stuck SESH to affected users. Details on the release timing will be announced as the upgrade becomes available.
🎁 Testnet Participant Rewards
Testnet participants have received their allocated SESH rewards in the wallet addresses used during testing. These rewards can be accessed by connecting to the Staking Portal and enabling Vesting Mode. Outstanding contributors will receive additional bonuses through the SESH Champions program in the coming weeks.
🌟 Session Pro Beta on the Horizon
Session Pro Beta is currently planned for launch in early Q4 2025, offering an initial set of premium features at a discounted price compared to future versions. The beta will focus on convenience features that help users better organize messages, exceed free user limits, and customize their appearance within the app. Users will be able to purchase Pro access through traditional in-app purchases initially, with fiat payments converted to SESH on the backend to pay Session Network fees. These SESH tokens are burned and re-minted into the Staking Reward Pool, providing additional rewards for node operators.
📱 Session
🧅 Lokinet Up Next
By the end of Q3 2025, Lokinet—an onion-router for anonymous internet access—is planned to be integrated into Session, starting with iOS. Android and Desktop will follow thereafter (timeline to be confirmed!). This integration will dramatically reduce message and file transmission times while enabling advanced features for Session Pro, including larger file attachments and potentially onion-routed voice and video calls on a longer timeline.
🌐 Network Page Rollout
The in-app Session Network page is rolling out this week! For the first time, Session's 1M+ users will have a prominent, in-app pathway to discover the token and the network that secure and power the app. By placing key information—like token stats and explanations of how the Session Network makes Session possible—directly within the settings menu, this feature bridges the gap between users and the community who operate the network. Available soon on all Android and iOS devices, with Desktop soon to follow.
🔧 Smoother Messaging
As part of Session's latest minor release, contributors addressed some issues on both Session iOS and Desktop that were affecting message delivery. These bugs could occasionally prevent users from generating active onion routes—an essential part of how Session sends and receives messages securely across the network.
With these fixes now in place, affected users should see more reliable message delivery and sending performance. While this wasn't a widespread issue, resolving it helps ensure that Session's decentralized infrastructure continues to function smoothly and privately for everyone.
Contributors have also been continuing work on a major database overhaul for Session iOS, aimed at improving the reliability of push notifications and reducing the chances of the app crashing on startup. While this work is still ongoing, it's an important step toward making Session more stable and responsive for iOS users.
👥 Group Chat Improvements
Following the release of Groups v2 in March, which introduced a more reliable and performant architecture for group chats, Session's contributors have continued work on improving the overall experience of using group chats on Session. One of the areas making progress currently is the conversation settings screens, which are being overhauled to better support new group features and improvements.
This ongoing work aims to unify the user experience across group chats, communities, and 1:1 conversations. By streamlining the way settings are accessed and modified, it will be easier for users to manage their conversations—regardless of the context—while laying the groundwork for future enhancements.