Freenet

Declare your digital independence


The internet has grown increasingly centralized over the past few decades, with a handful of corporations now controlling most of its infrastructure. This privatization of the public square threatens freedom of speech and democracy.

23 years ago, we created Freenet Classic - the first distributed, decentralized peer-to-peer network. Freenet Classic pioneered technologies like cryptographic contracts and small-world networks and still has an active community of users and developers today.

The internet has evolved significantly since its early days and so have user expectations. To meet these current challenges, we are developing a new version of Freenet for 2023, initially known as "Locutus." In January 2023, the Freenet Board of Directors announced that the original Freenet will be renamed to "Freenet Classic" and Locutus will be renamed to Freenet.

This new Freenet will make it easy for developers to create and deploy decentralized alternatives to current centralized internet services such as instant messaging, social networking, email, and online stores. These decentralized applications will be user-friendly, scalable and secured through the use of cryptography. Freenet will empower users by giving back control.

Learn More

Latest News

September 5, 2022: Ian gave an interview (YouTube) to Louis Rossmann about Locutus
July 16, 2022: Ian gave a talk (YouTube) on Decentralized Reputation and Trust in Locutus
July 7, 2022: Ian gave an introductory talk (Youtube, Vimeo) on Locutus
July 6, 2022: Locutus makes the front page of r/cryptocurrency
April 18, 2022: Locutus makes the front page of the r/programming subreddit
April 10, 2022: Locutus makes the front page of Hacker News
March 27, 2022: Locutus makes the front page of r/privacy

Roadmap

MilestoneProjected
Decentralized messaging system can be tested locallyApril 10, 2023
Messaging contracts and component completeMay 1, 2023
Peer-to-peer network simulator and integration testsMay 29, 2023
Minimum viable release, decentralized apps running over test networkJuly 17, 2023
We have a web browser customized for use with FreenetAugust 7, 2023
Contracts are prioritized by balancing resource usage with value createdSeptember 4, 2023

Projections are generated automatically from Pivotal Tracker. These are estimates only and may change. Look here to see a detailed roadmap.

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