Besides Session for private messaging, this foundation is also responsible for Lokinet, a Tor-like decentralized onion routing network for private browsing, and Oxen, the cryptocurrency that economically incentivises the service nodes that make up the Lokinet. Session is a project of the Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation (OPTF, previously named Loki Foundation), an Australia-based not-for-profit organisation that supports the development of free and open-source software that protects privacy and security in the digital world. You can also copy and paste the Session ID of each other. To make things easier, Session provides a QR Code you can show each other to scan.

Make sure you and your contact exchange Session IDs personally or using a secondary channel of communication both of you trust. One challenge with truly anonymous communication systems like Session is that you do need to verify the identity of the person you’re talking to. On Session, you add contacts via their Session ID. On WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, you add contacts via their phone number. No need to pass your phone number on to others. It’s a large hexadecimal number that acts as an address people can use to contact you on Session. When you use Session for the first time, just choose to create an account and it will generate a random (unique) Session ID for you. The Session app does not collect or share your information. Session never knows who you are, who you’re talking to, or the contents of your messages. Just for you to have an idea of how it is serious, Session’s privacy policy starts like this: That means no data breaches, as there’s nothing to leak. Also, every message between Session users is end-to-end encrypted - a feature inherited from Signal. While Signal collects almost no user metadata, Session does not collect any user metadata at all. Different from other more common instant messengers, Session does not require any personal information, such as a phone number or email address, to register and start using its service. Session is a messaging app forked from Signal that takes privacy a step further.

Session private messenger