4 sats \ 6 replies \ @shyfire 31 Oct 2022 \ on: Are you participating in #NostrNovember ? nostr
At the moment a nostr relay grabs your IP address, your pubkey and who you are communicating with. Enough to deanonymize things to a large extent.
Once I can point a client like Damus at my own relay, I'll see y'all on nostr, but not before then.
Nostr cannot be used if you only use your relay (because nobody is using it).
Like twitter, if need to add some layer of privacy. You can use a VPN or Tor. It can be cool to have some relay deployed on Tor.
Like twitter, if need to add some layer of privacy. You can use a VPN or Tor. It can be cool to have some relay deployed on Tor.
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Damn, my understanding was totally wrong, thanks for the correction. That seems to defeat the point to me. I'd rather stick with something like federated matrix, where I can run my own synapse server and not leak metadata.
Requiring VPN/tor for something like social networking defeats the point IMO, I might as well stick with Twitter.
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VPN fixes this, no?
Twitter has much more than your IP address! Also, your account there doesn't even belong to you. It belongs to Twitter, or whoever bought it last.
Matrix is great for team chat and collaboration, but it does require that everybody has their own Matrix identity - and not everyone will want to run their own server. Which unfortunately, means that many users will just sign up with matrix.org.
Nostr is a Twitter alternative which provides:
- Ability to broadcast your message to a large audience
- A very (very) easy "sign up" process
- Uncensorable comms (no central servers)
- No ads or algorithms (you choose your client)
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VPN does fix this, however the friction of making sure my phone is always connected to a VPN is too high.
My ideal solution would be something like nostr, but where I can run my own relay to plug into the rest of the network over TOR or I2P and point my own client at my own relay. Kind of how I can connect Sparrow to my Bitcoin node and broadcast transactions over TOR with nobody else knowing any of my metadata.
I'm looking for that type of intersection of privacy and convenience: 1) my own relay so that I don't need a VPN / Tor AND 2) my relay being able to participate in the broader network.
But sure, for people who don't mind their metadata going to nostr relays, it does seem better than Twitter.
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Yes, if relays could relay then the system would be perfect
But as for IP addresses, I personally would never consider browsing the internet without a VPN. Without a VPN, every single website you visit has your IP address. And your connection provider knows every single website you visit.
On iPhone at least, installing a VPN is very easy. The problem is that not all traffic will be routed through it (only regular browsing activity). Therefore, the only reliable way to stay safe would be to avoid using a sim card on your phone and to connect only by wired / wifi to a VPN router connected to a dongle. Which all requires power, storage, and... friction.
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It's cool that certain mobile apps such as BlueWallet have TOR bundled in... so perhaps the main nostr relay that people hang out on can expose an onion hidden service at some point.
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