Session
Session is a free, end-to-end encrypted decentralized messaging application stewarded by the Swiss Session Technology Foundation. It serves privacy-conscious consumers, journalists, and activists with anonymous account creation, onion routing, and a 1,500-node community-operated network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Session does
Session is an end-to-end encrypted, decentralized messaging application stewarded by the Session Technology Foundation (STF), a Swiss non-profit foundation headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Founded in 2018 by Chris McCabe and Kee Jefferys and originally developed under Australia's Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation (OPTF), Session was transferred to the newly created STF in October 2024 in response to regulatory pressure in Australia, including a warrantless police visit. The application serves privacy-conscious consumers, journalists, activists, and—potentially—enterprise customers who require anonymous, metadata-minimized communication without phone numbers, emails, or personal identifiers.
Session's technical foundation rests on a decentralized network of more than 1,500 community-operated nodes using onion routing to obscure message origin and destination. Messages are encrypted via the Session Protocol built on the Libsodium cryptographic library and temporarily stored across swarms of 5–7 nodes with configurable time-to-live expiration. A native cryptocurrency, Session Token ($SESH), provides Sybil resistance through staking. The platform is distributed freely across Android, iOS, desktop, direct APK downloads, and an official F-Droid repository. Cryptographic Account IDs establish user identity without personal data. The roadmap includes Session Protocol V2, announced in November 2025, which will introduce perfect forward secrecy and post-quantum cryptography. Session Pro Beta, launched in July 2025, offers a premium paid tier, though the free core product is expected to remain available indefinitely.
Session's revenue model is overwhelmingly donation-driven. The core application has been free since launch, with funding sourced from community donations—a 2026 campaign raised approximately $201,000 toward a $1 million goal—and a 128 ETH grant from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in 2025 representing the largest single contribution. In early 2026, a funding crisis forced the STF to lay off its entire employed staff; the project is now sustained by 2–3 developers plus volunteers under Jason Rhinelander as Chief Software Architect, with the community donation campaign securing continuation of development beyond July 2026.
Session firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Session
- Legal name
- Session Technology Foundation
- Website
- https://getsession.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Session is a free, end-to-end encrypted decentralized messaging application stewarded by the Swiss Session Technology Foundation. It serves privacy-conscious consumers, journalists, and activists with anonymous account creation, onion routing, and a 1,500-node community-operated network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Session industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Messaging
- SIC
- Telegraph & Other Message Communications (4822), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)
Keywords
Where Session is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Session business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Community Donations: Session relies primarily on community donations to fund development and operations. A recent fundraising campaign raised $201K toward a $1M goal to secure the project's immediate future.
- Session Pro (Planned): Premium tier with advanced features including higher character limits, unlimited pins, larger groups, animated display pictures, and Pro badges. Intended to provide sustainable revenue for the foundation.
- Session Token Staking Rewards: Node operators stake Session Token ($SESH) and receive rewards for validating transactions and storing messages. This bootstraps the decentralized network.
- Enterprise White-Label Versions (Potential): The foundation is open to developing white-labeled enterprise versions of Session in the future, which could provide additional revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier with full messaging functionality |
| Subscription | Monthly | Session Pro (planned paid tier) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Session product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Session is an end-to-end encrypted decentralized messaging application that requires no phone number, email, or personal identifier for account creation. It runs over a global network of 1,500+ community-operated nodes using onion routing and swarm-based storage to minimize exposure of metadata. Available for free across Android, iOS, and Desktop, with a planned paid Session Pro tier to fund continued development.
Product overview
Session is a privacy-focused decentralized messaging application built around the principle of 'sending messages, not metadata.' The core Session app is available free across Android, iOS, and Desktop platforms, providing end-to-end encrypted messaging with no phone number or personal identifier required. It operates on the Session Network, a decentralized infrastructure of over 1,500 community-operated nodes, with the Session Token ($SESH) serving as the native cryptocurrency for network incentives and Sybil resistance. The upcoming Session Protocol V2 (currently in development) will add perfect forward secrecy and post-quantum cryptography. Session Pro Beta, launched in July 2025, offers premium features as a paid tier to support network sustainability, while the free core app remains fully functional.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Session Token ($SESH): The native cryptocurrency of the Session ecosystem, used to stake to Session Nodes, reward nodes for validating transactions, and access advanced features within the messenger.
- Session Pro
Products and services
- Session Messenger The core end-to-end encrypted decentralized messaging application for Android, iOS, and Desktop. Protects user privacy by requiring no phone number, email, or personal identifier for account creation, routing messages through onion requests over a network of 1,500+ community-operated nodes to minimize metadata exposure.
- Session Pro Beta A paid premium tier offering higher character limits, unlimited message pins, larger group chat sizes, animated display pictures, and Pro badges for paying subscribers, intended to fund the network's continued sustainability. The core messenger remains free.
- Session Token ($SESH) The native cryptocurrency of the Session ecosystem used to stake to Session Nodes, reward operators for validating transactions and storage, and (soon) access premium features within the messenger, providing Sybil resistance to the decentralized network.
- Session Network The decentralized network of over 1,500 community-operated Session Nodes that validates transactions, stores messages temporarily in swarms, and routes messages through onion requests, providing the infrastructure layer for Session Messenger.
- Session Protocol V2 The next-generation encryption protocol for Session, re-implementing perfect forward secrecy, adding post-quantum cryptography, and improving device management features to address future security threats such as quantum computing.
Companies that use Session
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Session technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature12 records
Session partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- LokinetcoreOnion router used as part of Session's infrastructure for real-time voice communications. Lokinet is being developed to handle end-to-end encrypted voice calls without relying on central servers.
- QuarkslabsupportingCybersecurity research company that conducted comprehensive security audit of Session's Android, iOS, and Desktop clients in 2021.
- CloudflaresupportingCloud services used to serve the Session website for improved performance and reliability.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Session competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wire: Wire is an end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform with a strong enterprise focus and European/Swiss heritage. It competes with Session for privacy-conscious business users and government clients requiring sovereign communications.
- Element (Matrix): Element is built on the Matrix open protocol for decentralized, end-to-end encrypted messaging and offers federated architecture similar to Session's decentralized nodes. Both target privacy/enterprise users seeking interoperability and self-hosting, with Element having a more developer/enterprise focus.
- Signal: Signal is the most prominent end-to-end encrypted open-source messenger and Session's most direct privacy-focused competitor. Both offer E2EE messaging, no ads, and a privacy-first value proposition, though Signal relies on a centralized server and requires phone numbers whereas Session is decentralized and anonymous.
- SimpleX Chat: SimpleX is a privacy-focused decentralized messenger that also received a 128 ETH donation from Vitalik Buterin in the same announcement as Session. Both share the same target user (privacy/activists), decentralized architecture, and no-identifier onboarding model, making them natural co-recipients in the decentralized messaging category.
- Threema: Threema is a Swiss-based encrypted messenger marketed toward privacy-conscious users and businesses, offering end-to-end encryption without phone number requirements. Both companies (Session and Threema) are based in Switzerland and compete for the same privacy-first consumer and enterprise segment.
Others
- Lokinet: Lokinet is an overlay onion-routing network used as part of Session's infrastructure for real-time encrypted voice communications. While not a direct messaging competitor, Lokinet is a strategic technology partner comparable to Session's network stack and an ecosystem participant in the same privacy-tech space.
Emerging players
- Briar: Briar is an open-source privacy messenger designed for activists and journalists that works over Tor, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth without internet access. Both Session and Briar target the same activist/journalist personas but Briar is smaller and more niche.
- Keybase: Keybase (acquired by Zoom) offered end-to-end encrypted messaging and identity verification for tech/privacy users. It shares Session's cryptographic identity model (public-key Account IDs) and target developer/privacy user base, though its primary product has been de-emphasized under Zoom ownership.
Broad incumbents
- Telegram: Telegram is the largest mainstream messaging alternative to WhatsApp with hundreds of millions of MAU and a strong community/group chat feature set. While Session's group chats serve similar use cases, Telegram has the scale, ecosystem, and resources to undercut privacy-focused newcomers by adding optional E2E features.
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp is the dominant global messaging platform with 3B+ users and end-to-end encrypted messaging by default. Session's broader market opportunity is defined by users dissatisfied with WhatsApp's phone-number identity model and metadata collection, making WhatsApp the primary incumbent Session's value proposition pushes against.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Session social profiles
Digital presenceSession financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Session leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Session funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Session M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Session
What does Session do?
Session is an end-to-end encrypted decentralized messaging application that requires no phone number, email, or personal identifier for account creation. It runs over a global network of 1,500+ community-operated nodes using onion routing and swarm-based storage to minimize exposure of metadata. Available for free across Android, iOS, and Desktop, with a planned paid Session Pro tier to fund continued development.
Is Session a public or private company?
Session is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Session founded?
Session was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Session based?
Session is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Session make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Community Donations are the primary driver. The others are session Pro (Planned), session Token Staking Rewards and enterprise White-Label Versions (Potential).
Who are Session's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wire, Element (Matrix), Signal, SimpleX Chat and Threema. Lokinet is listed as an others. Emerging players are Briar and Keybase. Broad incumbents are Telegram and WhatsApp.
Does Session have an API?
No public API is recorded for Session.
What industry is Session in?
Session's product category is Private Messaging. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMACAH, Community/Group Chat Platforms. Its SIC code is 4822.