Session Wins Startups of The Year 2024 for Privacy-Focused Messaging

Session, a messaging app that prioritizes user privacy by eliminating metadata exposure, has been named the winner of Startups of The Year 2024 in Zug, Switzerland. The app offers fully anonymous sign-up, requiring no phone number or email, and uses decentralization and onion routing to shield users from surveillance. This makes Session a user-friendly alternative to centralized messaging apps that are vulnerable to tracking, third-party data collection, and censorship.

Session was built for individuals who want to communicate freely without sacrificing their privacy. The app does not track metadata, such as who users talk to, when, and where, which is as valuable as the content of their messages. Most messaging apps track this information by default, but Session does not. The app also does not ask for a phone number, log IP addresses, or store contact graphs, ensuring there is no obvious trail connecting users to their conversations. In a world where metadata is a commodity for advertisers, censorship is growing, and governments demand backdoors in messaging apps, this kind of protection can make a real difference.

What sets Session apart is its infrastructure. Messages do not go through a central server; they are routed through a global network of independent nodes. This makes Session hard to shut down and control, designed to resist political, legal, or commercial pressure. The app provides a space for users to speak without fear, whether they are journalists protecting their sources, citizens sharing sensitive opinions online, or individuals who value control over their own data.

Session's approach is fundamentally different from many other messaging apps that advertise end-to-end encryption but still collect metadata or rely on centralized infrastructure. Session is fully decentralized, uses onion routing, and does not require a phone number or email to get started. The app does not track users, serve ads, or retain any user-identifying data. The network is powered by a global community, and anyone can run a node and contribute. It is open source, transparent, and belongs to everyone. Session is end-to-end encrypted by default, does not collect metadata, and is stewarded by a Swiss foundation that does not collect profits. The app has also undergone independent, external audits that attest to its security. The model is not built around monetization but around protecting the fundamental right to privacy.

The launch of the Session Token, SESH, this May marked a major turning point for Session. SESH creates the incentive layer for the node runners that keep the network running securely, rewarding community members for storing and routing messages. It also opens the door to new user-facing features like Session Pro and the Session Name Service, which introduces unique, tradeable usernames. This upgrade ensures that Session remains a strong, secure, and decentralized alternative to centralized messaging platforms.

Winning the title of Startups of The Year 2024 means a lot to the Session team, as it highlights the support and votes from the community. The privacy space is full of people doing critical work that often goes unrecognized. This kind of visibility is a reminder to the contributors building Session that privacy matters and that what they are building together truly has an impact.

The Session ecosystem is united by a shared mindset that privacy is not a luxury but a right worth defending. Everyone involved has made a conscious choice to contribute to something that puts users first. The app is a project that anyone can be part of, with node operators across the world routing messages, open-source contributors collaborating on GitHub, and community members spreading the word, creating guides, doing translations, and offering support. Session belongs to everyone who believes in the right to private communication.

Looking ahead, the public is becoming more aware of how much data they have given away. Session will remain accessible, stable, and censorship-resistant as privacy risks evolve rapidly, ensuring that people still have a way to speak freely, even in difficult environments. In 2025, Session Pro Beta is planned to launch in early Q4, focusing on convenience features that help users better organize messages, exceed free user limits, and customize their appearance within the app. Users will be able to purchase Pro access through traditional in-app purchases initially, with fiat payments converted to SESH on the backend to pay Session Network fees. These SESH tokens are burned and re-minted into the Staking Reward Pool, providing additional rewards for node operators. The Pro features will include higher character limits for messages, more pinned conversations, higher group member limits, exclusive access to animated profile pictures, Pro badges, Pro verification, and in-app purchases and Pro membership management, among other features.