{"slug": "freenet", "name": "Freenet", "category": "networking", "category_name": "Networking and VPN", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 11, "warners": 0, "score": 4.813, "rising": 1.67, "first": "2026-01-08", "latest": "2026-09-21", "why": "I do agree with your broader point that there is massive scope for building truly decentralized governance systems on Freenet", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 5, "compare": 2, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I do agree with your broader point that there is massive scope for building truly decentralized governance systems on Freenet", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "freenet.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://freenet.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Freenet"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 794576850, "item_id": 49661053, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49661053", "by": "ilaksh", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Maybe check out Mastodon, Matrix, (new) Freenet, etc.", "excerpt": "Maybe check out Mastodon, Matrix, (new) Freenet, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hacker News with reduced priority for AI driven content"}, {"id": 787658944, "item_id": 49228684, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49228684", "by": "EGreg", "date": "2026-08-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Freenet had a different approach, even back in the early days", "excerpt": "It's all a matter of whether someone is willing to pay for the hosting. Which is not, in my opinion, how things should be hosted on the Web. Freenet had a different approach, even back in the early days (two decades ago). I interviewed Ian Clarke about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWrRqUkJpMQ I wrote about it for years: https://community.intercoin.app/t/who-pays-for-storage-nfts-and-other-digital-content-in-202", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"The original URL for this prediction will no longer be available in 11 years.\" (2011)"}, {"id": 771702896, "item_id": 48231431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48231431", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I do agree with your broader point that there is massive scope for building truly decentralized governance systems on Freenet", "excerpt": "Appreciate your feedback. > Reputation systems have been a theoretical idea for a while, but we haven't come up with anything sybil-proof without centralized identity management. I don't think it's accurate to say that we haven't come up with anything. The original Freenet has had a decentralized web-of-trust plugin for over 20 years[0]. It's far from perfect, in practice it seems to have empowered a small number of ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771683056, "item_id": 48230191, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48230191", "by": "Groxx", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Ghostkeys seem like part of a decent approach", "excerpt": "Ghostkeys seem like part of a decent approach to this, since it's a \"prove contribution without dictating how\" system. Crypto/cash/\"they gave me a high five, they're cool\" are all equally valid, and it's not a proof of work that costs substantial money to operate: https://freenet.org/ghostkey/ Currently it appears centralized, but in principle it'd be pretty easy to shift it to a web of trust instead, and hosts can c", "context": "", "use_case": "Decentralized apps network", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 771654832, "item_id": 48228427, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228427", "by": "qcl820DV34", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The new \"Freenet\" does not have anonymity as a design goal anymore", "excerpt": "Notably this project was conceived by a backroom decision to dump the original Freenet development team's work, in favor of a rewrite from different developers, without asking anyone on the original team. It was an ivory tower decision which was announced on the mailing list without prior discussion. The old team did not agree, yet it was forced through by a decision of the \"board\". The \"board\" was a group of people ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["peer-to-peer decentralized apps", "decentralized storage for comments", "decentralized apps network", "decentralized apps"], "compared": [{"slug": "river", "name": "River", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 771670144, "item_id": 48229384, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48229384", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "we've also experimented with hosting git repos on Freenet", "excerpt": "Interesting, we've also experimented with hosting git repos on Freenet, see: https://github.com/freenet/freenet-git", "context": "", "use_case": "Hosting git repos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771664368, "item_id": 48229023, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48229023", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "If you're a developer and are interested in building on Freenet I suggest starting with", "excerpt": "Thank you! If you're in a position to support the project financially you're more than welcome to donate[1], we're a 501c3 non-profit and all funds go to support development. If you're a developer and are interested in building on Freenet I suggest starting with https://freenet.org/build/manual/tutorial/, you can also join our Matrix room[2], or install Freenet[3] and chat with us on River[3], our decentralized group", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771662448, "item_id": 48228903, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228903", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "> Very cool project! Thank you! > Where can I learn more about this? If you don't mind watching a video I gave this talk back in March that should be fairly comprehensive: https://youtu.be/3SxNBz1VTE0?si=R4ifrsfEUJfvjDPx If you would prefer an article I recommend: https://freenet.org/about/news/summary-delta-sync/ > How is this different from CRDTs/CmRDTs? It's very closely related, you can view Freenet contract stat", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized apps platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771659984, "item_id": 48228749, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228749", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "As the project's architect I'm entitled to make decisions about the project's future direction.", "excerpt": "> There was no \"year of debate\". Incorrect, I raised the issue with the lead maintainer over a year prior to that announcement. > You came to the mailing list and declared it as a finalized decision. As the project's architect I'm entitled to make decisions about the project's future direction. > It's all public for anyone to see on the mailing list archive: > https://www.mail-archive.com/devl@freenetproject.org/msg5", "context": "project's architect", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771659008, "item_id": 48228688, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228688", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The rearchitected Freenet is faster, more flexible, and better equipped to offer a robust, decentralized alternative", "excerpt": "> Notably this project was conceived by a backroom decision to dump the original Freenet development team's work, This is a false narrative, from the Freenet FAQ[1]: Why was Freenet rearchitected and rebranded? In 2019, Ian began developing a successor to the original Freenet, internally named \u201cLocutus.\u201d This redesign was a ground-up reimagining, incorporating lessons learned from the original Freenet and addressing ", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized apps platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771575680, "item_id": 48223480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48223480", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For the past 5 years or so I've been working on a ground-up redesign of Freenet", "excerpt": "For the past 5 years or so I've been working on a ground-up redesign of Freenet, my peer-to-peer project from the early 2000s (now renamed Hyphanet). The new Freenet has been up and running since December along with some early applications like River[1], our decentralized group chat and Delta - a decentralized CMS. Users have already started to build their own apps on Freenet including games, and we have some interes", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized apps platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48223362", "title": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps", "mentions": 16}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46547216", "title": "Show HN: Freenet alpha, a drop-in decentralized replacement for the web", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49792418", "title": "FreePinion \u2013 Comments on the page you are viewing, stored on Freenet", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49660482", "title": "Hacker News with reduced priority for AI driven content", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49559522", "title": "Project Xanadu: Even More Hindsight (2025)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49228458", "title": "\"The original URL for this prediction will no longer be available in 11 years.\" (2011)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 2, "recommend": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 796678705, "item_id": 49792419, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49792419", "by": "HostFat", "date": "2026-09-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "You need Freenet running on this computer", "excerpt": "FreePinion is a Chrome/Brave side panel. The page you are on gets a public thread. Each canonical URL is its own Freenet contract. There is no FreePinion server, and we do not receive the comments. You need Freenet running on this computer (http://127.0.0.1:7509/). Reading does not need an identity. A new post costs about a second of proof-of-work on your machine, or a Freenet Ghost Key stamp. That work does not run ", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized storage for comments", "switched_from": "", "story": "FreePinion \u2013 Comments on the page you are viewing, stored on Freenet"}, {"id": 794576850, "item_id": 49661053, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49661053", "by": "ilaksh", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Maybe check out Mastodon, Matrix, (new) Freenet, etc.", "excerpt": "Maybe check out Mastodon, Matrix, (new) Freenet, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hacker News with reduced priority for AI driven content"}, {"id": 793017520, "item_id": 49563595, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49563595", "by": "wwfn", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Freenet is as legal as facebook or twitter", "excerpt": "> fiercely opposed by many entities, but outright illegal. As I understand it, this fails to advances the broader \"searching for a problem\" argument. And is actually addressing a problem others have tried to solve later. re. copyright holders fierce opposition: Youtube might be a good counter to the suggested tragedy of the anticommons. And on the high seas, napster's rise and the continued success of torrents sugges", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Project Xanadu: Even More Hindsight (2025)"}, {"id": 787658944, "item_id": 49228684, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49228684", "by": "EGreg", "date": "2026-08-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Freenet had a different approach, even back in the early days", "excerpt": "It's all a matter of whether someone is willing to pay for the hosting. Which is not, in my opinion, how things should be hosted on the Web. Freenet had a different approach, even back in the early days (two decades ago). I interviewed Ian Clarke about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWrRqUkJpMQ I wrote about it for years: https://community.intercoin.app/t/who-pays-for-storage-nfts-and-other-digital-content-in-202", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"The original URL for this prediction will no longer be available in 11 years.\" (2011)"}, {"id": 771722544, "item_id": 48232659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48232659", "by": "cess11", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "the current version does not offer built-in anonymity", "excerpt": "\"Anonymity: While the previous version was designed with a focus on anonymity, the current version does not offer built-in anonymity but allows for a choice of anonymizing systems to be layered on top.\" https://freenet.org/about/faq/", "context": "", "use_case": "peer-to-peer decentralized apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771720128, "item_id": 48232508, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48232508", "by": "toomim", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "compare", "quote": "Freenet seems to not interoperate with the existing WWW as much", "excerpt": "How do you compare this to the effort in https://braid.org, which is also a decentralized web, which adds subscriptions that can operate in a tree (or DAG) of reactive state, each with its own validator and supporting different media types, and merging with merge-types? Freenet seems to not interoperate with the existing WWW as much, while at the same time giving more specification on a specific routing and WASM vali", "context": "", "use_case": "Peer-to-peer decentralized apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771702896, "item_id": 48231431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48231431", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I do agree with your broader point that there is massive scope for building truly decentralized governance systems on Freenet", "excerpt": "Appreciate your feedback. > Reputation systems have been a theoretical idea for a while, but we haven't come up with anything sybil-proof without centralized identity management. I don't think it's accurate to say that we haven't come up with anything. The original Freenet has had a decentralized web-of-trust plugin for over 20 years[0]. It's far from perfect, in practice it seems to have empowered a small number of ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771683056, "item_id": 48230191, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48230191", "by": "Groxx", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Ghostkeys seem like part of a decent approach", "excerpt": "Ghostkeys seem like part of a decent approach to this, since it's a \"prove contribution without dictating how\" system. Crypto/cash/\"they gave me a high five, they're cool\" are all equally valid, and it's not a proof of work that costs substantial money to operate: https://freenet.org/ghostkey/ Currently it appears centralized, but in principle it'd be pretty easy to shift it to a web of trust instead, and hosts can c", "context": "", "use_case": "Decentralized apps network", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771671744, "item_id": 48229484, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48229484", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "the current version is analogous to a full decentralized computer", "excerpt": "> Or to put it very bluntly: what is this, why should I care, and why not just use the old one? If you don't mind I'll quote the FAQ[1]: The previous and current versions of Freenet have several key differences: Functionality: The previous version was analogous to a decentralized hard drive, while the current version is analogous to a full decentralized computer. Real-time Interaction: The current version allows user", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771669745, "item_id": 48229359, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48229359", "by": "rcakebread", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I wrote a web browser for Freenet", "excerpt": "I wrote a web browser for Freenet called Snarfzilla. I guess it may have been the first web browser for \"the dark web\". [1] I integrated \"Fair Tunes\", which tried to pay musicians for mp3 files, long before any label was selling mp3's. [1] https://sourceforge.net/projects/snarfzilla/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771663696, "item_id": 48228981, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228981", "by": "qcl820DV34", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "> Incorrect, I raised the issue with the lead maintainer over a year prior to that announcement. The previous lead maintainer, Steve, voiced their frustration with your decision here: https://www.mail-archive.com/devl@freenetproject.org/msg55263.html To which you sent a brash reply, which sounds like you don't know Steve's position in the community: https://www.mail-archive.com/devl@freenetproject.org/msg55264.html T", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771663088, "item_id": 48228943, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228943", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "it stores the most recent messages", "excerpt": "It depends on the nature of the data, for example in our group chat app River[1] it stores the most recent messages - deleting the oldest to make room for the newest as necessary. Banning a user will remove them from the members list along with their messages, and recently banned users are stored in a banned list (like a tombstone). So there is no one approach to this, rather you design the approach based on the appl", "context": "", "use_case": "Decentralized apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771659568, "item_id": 48228723, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228723", "by": "qcl820DV34", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "> and after over a year of debate There was no \"year of debate\". You came to the mailing list and announced it for the first time as a finalized decision already, without any prior debate with the original team. The \"board\" you cited as the body which allegedly discussed it did neither join the mailing list discussion, nor were you willing to hand out their contact info. It's all public for anyone to see on the maili", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 771654832, "item_id": 48228427, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48228427", "by": "qcl820DV34", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The new \"Freenet\" does not have anonymity as a design goal anymore", "excerpt": "Notably this project was conceived by a backroom decision to dump the original Freenet development team's work, in favor of a rewrite from different developers, without asking anyone on the original team. It was an ivory tower decision which was announced on the mailing list without prior discussion. The old team did not agree, yet it was forced through by a decision of the \"board\". The \"board\" was a group of people ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet, a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps"}, {"id": 751048256, "item_id": 46940516, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46940516", "by": "cat5e", "date": "2026-02-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "You can go to https://freenet.org/ to try Freenet out yourself!", "excerpt": "You can go to https://freenet.org/ to try Freenet out yourself!", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Freenet (Mesh Internet) is live) [video]"}, {"id": 744777248, "item_id": 46548578, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46548578", "by": "sanity", "date": "2026-01-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Work on a clean-slate successor started in 2019 under the internal name Locutus.", "excerpt": "Good question, this has understandably been confusing. They\u2019re two distinct pieces of software created by the same project. The original Freenet dates back to the early 2000s and focused heavily on anonymity. In 2023 it was spun out into its own project and renamed Hyphanet. It\u2019s largely incompatible with the newer system. Work on a clean-slate successor started in 2019 under the internal name Locutus. That codebase ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet alpha, a drop-in decentralized replacement for the web"}, {"id": 744768352, "item_id": 46548022, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46548022", "by": "pamcake", "date": "2026-01-08", "stance": "compare", "quote": "related to Original FreeNet (by now rebranded to Hyphanet) in name only", "excerpt": "This is mentioned in the FAQ; https://freenet.org/faq/#why-was-freenet-rearchitected-and-rebranded So I guess this is still Locutus, which is the New FreeNet, related to Original FreeNet (by now rebranded to Hyphanet) in name only.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Freenet alpha, a drop-in decentralized replacement for the web"}]}