Where are messages stored?
What servers do messages get stored on? We take a look at a few competing protocols.
Let’s analyze where things really get stored with different protocols and tools.
Signal:
Amazon
Session:
Decentralized database w/ pay in crypto
XMPP:
Self-hosted federated
the word “federated” means cross-communication of servers like email
Matrix:
federated (in theory)
SimpleX:
two federated self-hosted servers,
they pick your send, you pick your receive
Briar:
No servers, peer-to-peer
They gotta be online
Keet:
Like Briar, it’s peer-to-peer
Unlike Briar, it doesn’t work with Tor, because it’s “holepunching” (connecting) via UDP packets
Nostr:
poster picks distributed relays
Ethereum push.org notifications
This is changing.
Their app is added to MetaMask and fetches it, but where it’s stored is changing.
Now it’s centralized, but in the future they will be spreading it among nodes
IPFS
Torrent CDN getting it from a self-host pinner (host)
IPFS is really a CDN
CDN means content delivey network, or servers all over distributing faster
Akash & Flux
You’re renting servers from their network for your software
The blockchain just keeps track of who owes you service
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