Privacy Messenger Session Is Staring Down a 90-Day Countdown to Obscurity
If you care about privacy and don't take too well to governments and Big Tech companies snooping on your messages, then Session has probably come up at some point. It's a free, open source, end-to-end encrypted messaging app that doesn't ask for your phone number or email to sign up.
Messages are routed through an onion network rather than a central server, and the combination of no-metadata messaging, anonymous sign-up, and decentralized architecture has earned it a loyal following among privacy-conscious users.
Unfortunately, the project has sent out a mayday call as it risks closure.
A call for help
Your donations have helped, and the Session Technology Foundation (STF) has received enough funding to support critical operations for 90 days.
This means that Session will remain available on the app stores and essential services (such as the file server and push notification…
— Session (@session_app) April 9, 2026
The Session Technology Foundation (STF) sent out what can only be described as a distress signal, announcing that the app's survival is now in serious peril. The day it was posted on was also the last working day for all paid staff and developers at the STF.
From that point on, Session is being kept running entirely by volunteers.
The donations that they received earlier are enough to keep critical infrastructure online until July 8, but not nearly enough to retain a development team. With nobody left on payroll, development has been paused.
Due to that, introducing new features is off the table, existing bugs will most likely go unaddressed, and the STF says new releases are unlikely during this period.
Session co-founder Chris McCabe had already flagged the trouble coming. In a personal appeal published earlier in March, he wrote that the organizations safeguarding Session had faced many challenges over the years and that the project's very survival was now at risk.
He had concluded by appealing that:
The project is on a path to self-sustainability, but the future is fragile. If every Session user contributed just one dollar, it would go a long way towards Session reaching sustainability. If you've ever considered donating, now is the time to act.
The above didn't accomplish enough to change the outcome, so the Session folks had to sound the alarm. The foundation says it needs $1 million to complete the work still in progress.
That includes Protocol v2, which adds forward secrecy (PFS), post-quantum cryptography, and improved device management, as well as Session Pro, a subscription tier intended to put the project on a self-sustaining footing.
If that goal is hit, the STF says it hopes Session could stand on its own without needing to go back to the community for more.
As of writing, $65,000 of that $1 million has been raised. Anyone who wants to see this privacy-focused messaging app survive, especially at a time when surveillance is only getting worse, can donate at getsession.org/donate.
Suggested Read 📖: Session's Other Co-Founder Thinks You Don't Need to Ditch WhatsApp
Source: It's FOSS