unsolved problems for fully decentralized P2P instant messaging

1. How do you assign persistent usernames to potentially rapidly changing IPs? You can't use a centralized server or any side channels (like an email address).

2. How do you do push notifications in Android or iOS? Push notifications are sent by Apple or Google servers via your signed, trusted (centralized) server(s).

Tox (the chat protocol) solves #1 by using centralized servers and #2 by simply not doing push notifications (which is unacceptable).

I dream of a chat client that has all the features of Messenger or iMessage without having to trust anyone. No central server in the middle. Just my message to your device and back and forth.

dude just use fucking imessage or whatsapp stop being paranoid lmao

Signal

>>3
As far as I can tell, everything still goes through Signal's servers. The main difference between it and Messenger/WhatsApp/iMessage is that it's open source and uses a lot of cryptography. Anyway WhatsApp and iMessage both already do end-to-end encryption, so I don't see what Signal brings to the table aside from being open source.

Also Signal requires you to verify with a real phone number. Let's say you're a dissident in a dictatorship. The government checks if you got the verification SMS from Signal--boom, you're dead.

The point is not just end-to-end encryption. It's about not having to rely on Facebook or Apple to do something as ordinary as messaging. It's the holy grail of privacy AND software independence/freedumbs.

>>4
Who do you think you are, Julian Assange? Get real, nobody gives a shit about your texts.

#1 is basically the same question as, How do you do torrents without trackers?

How do you locate a peer in a P2P network without an authoritative list of peers?

The only way I can think of is something like the way DNS or ``the blockchain'' works. Basically every user (or maybe a subset of them--volunteers like Tor relays) has to store a constantly updating a hash table of usernames to IP addresses.

>>2,5
t. loves taking it in the ass from big daddy Tim Cook / CIA niggers

It's not about privacy. If it were about privacy, I would be satisfied with end-to-end encryption. It's about freedom.

Therefore, every network participant attempts decryption of every message passing through the network even if the message was not originally intended for that network participant. Since only the actual recipient can successfully decrypt the messages intended for them, all network participants know that if they fail to decrypt the message then the message was not intended for them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitmessage

This is horrible. There's no point in making a chat client if it can't work on an iPhone. There has to be a better way.

>>5
Don't know about you but I'm actually on a watchlist. Not everyone is a basementfag.

>>9
me too

>>5
t. CIA nigger

the hardest part is actually getting users

1. How do you assign persistent usernames to potentially rapidly changing IPs? You can't use a centralized server or any side channels (like an email address).

DHT or blockchain
And usernames are shit, use publickeys as identifiers instead (like Tox), that makes everything much easier.

solves #1 by using centralized servers

Wrong, it uses DHT.

2. How do you do push notifications in Android or iOS? Push notifications are sent by Apple or Google servers via your signed, trusted (centralized) server(s).

Sounds weird and useless.

>>3
Worse than Tox.

>>6
DHT

>>12
the reason it's been hard is the developers of these types of programs are basementfags like >>13 who say push notifications are ``weird and useless''

if you can make a 1:1 clone of iMessage or WhatsApp except it is P2P and not dependent on any corporation, I think tons of people would use it.

the problem with FOSS is not caring about what normalfags want.

How do you assign persistent usernames to potentially rapidly changing IPs? You can't use a centralized server or any side channels (like an email address).

IP addresses aren't changed that often, but you can sign messages with a crypto signature that verifies your identity.
Instead of "assigning" username, let users create their own signatures.

>>15
On mobile cellular data, IPs change very often.

but you can sign messages with a crypto signature that verifies your identity

If I understand what you're saying, you're suggesting to use a public key (like a Bitcoin address) instead of a username.

That's just not acceptable in this day and age for normies. A long intimidating base64 string is literally too high of a barrier to entry.

Also it doesn't satisfy the requirement of not having to use any side channels. I would have to give my address to someone via some third party communication protocol or link to it on my social media page--at that point, my identity is not guaranteed to be private at all anymore. My identity would only be as private as the method I used to send someone my address. On the other hand I can easily verbally tell someone to look me up under "TShirtWearer22" without anyone else ever having any possibility of knowing.

>>13
A Distributed Hash Table or blockchain isn't a good solution for mobile devices.

So I guess the heart of the question is:
How do you store data in a completely decentralized network without any guarantees of users being online at the same time? (so no DHT or blockchain)

Mobile users can go fuck themselves.

>>17
t. boomer

>>12
i repeat myself: the hardest part is getting users

>>19
What feature set would attract users?
Shilling a bad product only gets you temporary users who leave when they discover the quality level of your project.

>>20
a bleeding-edge proven organic instant managing software with horizontal management structure that supports frictionless communities for granular ROI

>>21
you forgot to mention cloud and machine learning

>>21
fuck off

>>19
this

I2P[d]

I don't like frictionless communities, if you know what I mean.

friction my anus