Launching the STF 🚀
Say hello to the Session Tech Foundation—a new Swiss foundation created for the stewardship of the app and its token ecosystem.
Creating the STF was a very involved process with many months of groundwork, culminating in a launch which required a communications plan that could coordinate four unique and simultaneous announcements being distributed to four distinct groups of stakeholders. It was a little tricky, but the Session contributors overseeing the launch stuck the landing and executed it without issue.
You can learn more about the STF and what it means for the Session ecosystem here.
New Testnet Feature: Multicontributor Nodes 👪
One of the Session Token Testnet’s most anticipated features is officially live ⚡
Multi-contributor nodes allow one person to manage the operation of a shared node in exchange for a fee. This means that if a member of the Session community doesn’t have the technical know-how to operate a node, but still wants to help secure the Session Network, they can quickly and easily stake their Session Tokens to a node run by someone else, and share in that nodes rewards. This makes the network more decentralised and accessible.
The Session Network’s Multicontributor Nodes will be a big improvement over the old Oxen system. Now, you'll be able to reuse registrations and enjoy a more flexible setup in the web-based Staking Portal. Want to update your fees, keys for your node or contributors? No problem—you won’t need to start from scratch anymore. Just update the registration in the Staking Portal, and you're good to go. Previously, this required going back to the terminal and redoing all the command prompts, but not anymore!
In the testnet phase, the introduction of multicontributor nodes also allows participants to contribute to the Testnet Incentive Program without needing to run their own nodes. The testnet node operator community is already hard at work battle-testing the new multicontributor node feature, helping developers to squash bugs and improve the UX.
Contract Audit: Officially Complete ✅
The third and final phase in Session Token’s staged auditing plan has officially been completed 🥳
All of Session Token’s smart contracts have now been fully audited by the cryptography experts at Zellic, following the completion of a second round of auditing. No critical vulnerabilities were identified, and all minor vulnerabilities have been resolved.
The Session Token Testnet was successfully rebooted soon after, merging the updated contracts, fixing bugs, integrating optimisations, and resolving potential edge cases that have been identified by the community and the team.
You can view the full audit here.
New Feature, Fortified Foundations 🧑🤝🧑
Two major areas of focus for Session are nearing completion: Groups v2, and the in-app Session Network page.
The Groups v2 project is going to rebuild Sessions group chats from the ground up in order to enable smoother performance and a more feature-rich experience. A lot of progress has taken place in October, with Android in code review, iOS already in QA, and Desktop following close behind. This major upgrade will equip Session with a reliable and seamless group chat experience which is decentralised and permissionless—just as the good lord intended.
The in-app Session Network page is a very exciting feature which will introduce Sessions 1,000,000+ users to the token that powers it in a much more direct way than ever before. Stats about the token and information about how the network powers the app will be accessible directly from the settings menu, making it easier than ever for Session users to learn about and join the network. This feature, which will be released following TGE, has come a long way during October and will enter QA imminently.
Polishing the Gears ⚙️
Alongside the Groups v2 and the Session Network page, it was a tale of two point releases with a point release shipped on iOS and one reaching QA on Android. Here are some highlights for iOS:
- Fixed an issue where contacts could be incorrectly deleted along with their one-to-one conversations
- Fixed an issue where sending a message into a group while you were the only member resulted in the message permanently being in the "Sending" state
- Fixed an issue where disappearing messages not showing follow setting control message
A full list of the full list of the tweaks and fixes can be found here
Over in Android town, version 1.20.3 aims to standardise message deletion by re-working the logic and UI of this feature, along with a whole bunch of ANR fixes
Crafting the Path to Privacy 🚶
In October, Lokinet made strong progress with paths and path messaging.
All functionalities, including services and exit nodes, are now mediated through path requests, enabling a more seamless and secure operation across the network. Messages sent through Lokinet are onion-encrypted, like Russian nesting dolls, with each layer containing instructions for the next hop to relay or execute.
Each hop is assigned unique identifiers, or “HopIDs,” specific to both the path and its direction, ensuring unique addressing and routing. Additionally, objects addressing and serialising these IDs are being revamped to align with Lokinet’s updated lexicon, creating a more consistent structure across the board.
Session Makes The Headlines 📰
Session gained a lot of traction in the media this month.
Following an article which was published in 404 Media about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the STF, headlines were popping up all over the internet. And it wasn’t just traditional news media that covered the story—a very popular security podcast had an entire segment about Session which discussed the story and did a deep dive into the design of the Session ecosystem. Check that out here.
Co-founder Kee Jeffereys was also spotted in USA Today and CCN earlier this month, and between you and me, you can expect more coverage in the Australian media in the coming days 👀