Cody McGrath 
Session’s WhatsApp competitor revealed that its blockchain-powered phone and video call feature is now public
WhatsApp Competitor Session Releases Blockchain-Powered Private Calls
Session, the Oxen-powered messaging service, revealed this week that its secure phone and video call feature has entered public beta, competing with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Users of the encrypted messaging app will be able to have audio and video chats without worrying about intelligence agencies or AI technologies listening in on their discussions and obtaining crucial information.
User phone numbers, email addresses, or any other personal information are not required for the encrypted messenger.
To minimize spam and safeguard user privacy, the program will only allow users to call people on their contact list, according to a press statement.
Commitment To Preserving User Data
Users can easily initiate chats with other users when both parties have accepted the request.
Session’s willingness to go to such measures demonstrates its commitment to preserving user data, an issue that Facebook has been questioned about in the past.
It’s worth noting that messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have been accused of collecting data from their users.
Due to its restricted source code, which makes it hard to evaluate the quality of its encryption, there have been doubts about WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption implementation. WhatsApp’s centralized servers also function as a single point of failure.
The Session, on the other hand, is based on a decentralized network and aims to alleviate consumer skepticism about messaging apps.
Session uses the Oxen Network, a community-operated network of incentive nodes that serves as the application’s core infrastructure, to ensure the application’s and users’ safety. Session will not work without Oxen and its service nodes.
About Session
Session is a free app with over 300,000 monthly active users, making it one of the most popular in the industry.
The team already has a monetization plan in place, which would include a subscription fee for the app.
Revenue from this subscription, according to the team, will be used to purchase OXEN coins on the open market, which will subsequently be destroyed.
The OXEN coin is a private and storable asset for the uninitiated. It’s a Proof-of-Stake network that may power auxiliary services like Session, Lokinet, and others, and service node operators are rewarded with OXEN coins.