According to CoinWorld, White Noise is a new privacy-centric messaging application that has released its alpha v0.1.0 version in public testing. White Noise is built on Nostr's Bitcoin-native, decentralized identity system and Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, introducing an anonymization protocol that can hide sensitive metadata to the growing Nostr social media ecosystem. Combined with end-to-end encrypted group chats and direct messages (DMs), it aims to transform Nostr from an early adopter, hobbyist technology into a viable alternative in the realm of privacy-branded messaging applications like Whatsapp, Signal, or Telegram. Nostr stands for 'Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays' and is a decentralized open-source protocol launched in 2021 aimed at enabling censorship-resistant communication and social networking. Unlike centralized platforms like Twitter or WhatsApp, Nostr operates on an independent open network of relays (servers that store and forward messages), allowing users to post, send DMs, and share data without relying on a single company. The protocol is cryptographically native: users authenticate using private and public keys, which can also be used for payments in Bitcoin, and it operates without requiring identifiable user information. The protocol provides users with greater control over their identity without disclosing email or phone numbers. While it has gained significant popularity among Bitcoin users, it lacks suitable tools for private group chats and anonymous DMs. 'We started this project because we didn't see any other alternatives,' said Max Hillebrand, founder of White Noise and former contributor to Wasabi Wallet, to Bitcoin Magazine. 'Existing encrypted applications cannot scale: adding 100 people to a group chat makes encryption very slow. Decentralized platforms lack private messaging. Meanwhile, Nostr's open relay network allows anyone to broadcast ideas, but DMs are still severely lacking in protection. We realized: to protect freedom, we need to merge these systems.' White Noise addresses these issues in Nostr's privacy by using MLS (the 'Messaging Layer Security' encryption standard developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), established in 1986 as the primary standards development organization for the internet). Unlike today's Nostr DMs and public posts, White Noise's application promises to use a mature MLS encryption scheme (similar to the one used by popular privacy messaging application Signal) to obfuscate who is sending what to whom. This open-source alpha version invites the privacy and Bitcoin communities for auditing and feedback. Users can find more information about the application at whitenoise.chat or contact them on X.

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