SimpleX Channels, SimpleX Network Consortium and Community Crowdfunding

Source: Hacker News

Published: Apr 30, 2026

Freedom of speech needs infrastructure that protects it by design — not only the protocols and servers, but the governance and funding to support them.

SimpleX Channels — More Public, More Freedom, More Private

The v6.5 release¹ introduces SimpleX Channels, a new model for online publishing that is built around participation privacy.

• Visibility – Channel content is visible to chat‑relay operators, but each channel is routed through multiple relays, so no single relay can block it².
• Anonymity – The real identities of channel owners and subscribers are unknown to relay operators, to each other, and to the network. This protects freedom of speech and the ability to speak the truth³.
• Public‑by‑design – Anyone can join a public channel via its link, read what is sent, but cannot see who sent it or who else is reading. This benefits both users (privacy) and relay operators (control over delivered content).

The design is the opposite of the usual approach that tries (and often fails) to hide publicly available content from operators while exposing participants⁴.

Why it works

SimpleX was built without any user‑profile identifiers. Because the network never ties messages to persistent identities, participation privacy can be enforced at the protocol level—something impossible in systems that rely on phone numbers or other identifiers.

What the v6.5 beta brings

• Channel owners hold their own channel keys.
• Each channel uses multiple relays for reliability.
• Publishers can run their own chat relays.
• Channels can be added to the SimpleX Directory.

This release is just the beginning of a new layer for the SimpleX Network. For a deeper dive into the purpose, architecture, security model, and future roadmap, see the whitepaper.

SimpleX Network Consortium — Preserving Network Independence

No single company should control the protocols and network that people rely on to speak freely. When a network is run by one entity, business interests can diverge from users’ needs, and users ultimately lose.

To protect network neutrality and keep the protocols and intellectual property openly available, we are launching the SimpleX Network Consortium in the coming months. The consortium will be governed by an agreement between the new SimpleX Network Foundation and SimpleX Chat that is:

• Perpetual – it never expires.
• Irrevocable – it cannot be undone unilaterally.
• Survivable – it remains in force even if any party is sold or shut down.

Other organizations are welcome to join.

Governance Board

We are currently forming the board of the SimpleX Network Foundation. The inaugural member is Heather Meeker, who drafted the consortium agreement. Additional members will be announced soon.

Why a Structural Guarantee?

Moving control of the network protocols away from a single company creates a structural guarantee that the power cannot be reclaimed later⁵. This is the same principle we applied to privacy.

• Open‑source, privacy‑focused projects often die without funding or get captured by sponsors.
• “Don’t be evil” companies can be lured off‑course by growth pressures and board demands.

Pure ideology or pure commerce alone does not survive in the long run. Therefore we are building both:

1. A governance structure that protects network neutrality.
2. A sustainable business model that funds the network and makes participating businesses profitable, ensuring their independence.

Neither works without the other.

Commercial Model

We have published a preliminary design of the commercial model – private Community Credits that fund servers, development, and governance without surveillance or speculation. The full investment case will be released when the crowdfunding campaign launches.

Register your interest for the crowdfunding here:
https://simplexchat.typeform.com/crowdfunding

Stay Updated

• Channel for updates (requires v6.5): https://smp10.simplex.im/c#q09nMBmWFGz1m2TvgfZFaEOG5D2a7Ma9mSkl6pHXEsg
• Read‑only group (for older app versions): https://smp12.simplex.im/g#gJzy7ETpuvltqARIB73TQUpJ11Lz4Xpl9xeH9qNoGCg

Disclaimer: SimpleX Chat is testing the waters for a possible Reg CF offering. We are not asking for or accepting any money at this time, and we will not accept any payments until the official filing is live on a regulated platform. Any indication of interest does not create any obligation or commitment.

Recent Release (v6.5)

• Improved first‑connection experience for new users.
• Increased security for sending web links.
• Numerous other enhancements – see What’s new in the app or the full release notes⁶.

Current Relay Operator

At present, the app includes a single preset operator of chat relays. This will change in the next release⁷.

On Privacy & Truth

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” – Oscar Wilde

Privacy is essential for truth‑telling; without truth, society cannot survive⁸.

Public Channels & Encryption

From the whitepaper: any channel joinable via a public link—encrypted or not—must be considered completely public. The cost of automated joining has collapsed with large language models. End‑to‑end encrypting such content provides no privacy; it creates false expectations and raises risk for infrastructure operators who cannot see what they deliver⁹.

Ulysses Pact

The Ulysses pact adds constraints that limit future capture. Sé Reed used this analogy for the WordPress Foundation, describing it as “tying the project to the mast before the siren songs of commercial capture”¹⁰.

Footnotes