3 min read
Tether joined forces with Bitfinex in pursuit of making a peer-to-peer communication app that provides complete control and privacy to the users without any third-party interference. The app will be named Keet, and users can initiate video calls, text chats, and share files. It can allow two or more people to communicate and be free for anyone to use.
Holepunch gave the responsibility of making this app to Holepunch, a peer-to-peer app development company founded with the funding of Tether and Bitfinex. Keet will be the first ever app created on the Holepunch cloud. Holepunch cloud is based on the Hypercore peer-to-peer stack, which Tether also funded. Keet is powered by an innovative stack of distributed technology, including DHT distributed databases, that can connect to form a swarm on real-world home and office networks.
“Rather than relaying communications through a singular server, the way that most of today’s virtual communications apps do, Holepunch is an open network of computers that can be used by peers to discover each other,” said Mathias Buus, CEO of Holepunch Inc. “Having been heavily involved in the P2P and Node.js ecosystems the last 10 years, I am a big believer in open source and the role that it will play in liberating communication channels for billions of people around the world. This technology will enable Keet and the Holepunch platform to become the most unstoppable communication application, and we are thrilled to finally introduce it to the world.”
Keet is the first ever app that gives users complete control and privacy without having to depend too much on a third party. The Keet app can facilitate communication while eliminating the risks of a central point of failure between two or more peers, and any one of them can initiate the communication portal. This allows video chatting without a central server or company operating the network.
“Web2 requires users to give up control of their data, which has led to the rise of monopolies and growing privacy concerns. That is why Bitfinex and Tether chose to participate in developing Holepunch and Keet. It believes that freedom of choice, communication, and finances are the lifeblood of the future, and anything that will enhance those freedoms is worth amplifying.” Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex and Tether, and CSO of Holepunch.
This app will start a stream of other apps that give users control and privacy, and hopefully, Web3 can be more secure than Web2. But the real intentions of the crypto giants are unknown; the fact that Tether wants nothing out of it and they are just doing all this for public benefit is questionable.
The mobile app is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year (2022), and the stack protocol of the Holepunch will also go open source along with the app. The PC version of the free app has been released, and many offices and workplaces are using it. There are not a lot of reviews yet, but so far, the app looks like it has a lot to offer and would be liked by everyone.
