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Image: White Noise
White Noise, a privacy-centric messaging platform, launched its alpha version in public beta in early July.
The app is the brainchild of Max Hillebrand, a former contributor to Wasabi Wallet, and aims to redefine secure communication in the digital age.
White Noise is a next-generation messaging app that combines cutting-edge encryption with decentralisation, allowing users to communicate anonymously and securely, without compromising on speed or scalability.
Built on Nostr’s Bitcoin-native, decentralised identity system and the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, the app leverages end-to-end encryption to ensure conversations remain private. Even in the event of a compromised key or intercepted message, both past and future communications remain secure, thanks to forward secrecy and post-compromise protection.
Users maintain full control over their identity. They can choose to remain anonymous, use a pseudonym, or reveal their real name. The platform does not require email addresses or phone numbers to create an account, according to the White Noise website.
By utilising the Nostr protocol and the MLS standard, White Noise enables seamless interoperability across platforms. Users are not locked into a single service, and their contacts and data remain portable.
There is no central server to be censored or shut down. Instead, users can connect to thousands of public relays—or even host their own—ensuring both resilience and freedom.
Designed to support everything from one-on-one chats to large group conversations, the app delivers real-time messaging at scale without lag or performance degradation.
“We started this project because we saw no alternatives,” Hillebrand told Bitcoin Magazine.
"Existing encrypted apps fail at scale, adding 100 people to a group chat slows encryption to a crawl," he explained.
Hillebrand argued that decentralised platforms often lack adequate private messaging.
'We realised: To protect freedom, we needed to merge these systems,” he added.