FAQs

Opencord was created as an open-source project from the very beginning. The Plugin SDK (opens in a new tab) is already released, and other parts of the code, such as the official website have already been open-sourced. The rest will be released as the project progresses. You can follow our GitHub account (opens in a new tab) to stay up to date on the latest developments.

Yes, partially. Opencord offers some decentralized/Web3 features such as token-gating, ENS username, and NFT avatar. However, the IM system of Opencord is still running off-chain, as the efficiency and cost of storage on the blockchain are not yet optimal. Our aim is to balance user experience and decentralized principles, then gradually decentralize the IM system when it becomes feasible to do so.

How?: We believe in a progressive decentralization approach that can ensure a seamless transition to a fully decentralized platform, similar to Ethereum's POS upgrade.
The architecture of Opencord has been designed with decentralization in mind from the outset. We have implemented our own in-house instant messaging (IM) system, rather than relying on third-party providers, to ensure greater flexibility and avoid limitations in the future migration of user data towards decentralization.

When?: Our first step towards decentralization will involve user data, such as posts and chat history, being stored on decentralized storage solutions like IPFS. Once this aspect has been addressed, we plan to decentralize and protocolize our IM system, eventually migrating to a decentralized protocol. This will lead Opencord to be a fully decentralized platform. At that point, anyone will be able to run and maintain their own opencord distributed node, and data communication will not have to go through any centralized servers. Anyone can freely utilize the open source opencord protocol, develop their own community plugins, or even create a brand new Opencord client.

We are an experienced product and R&D team based in Singapore that has been working in the social and communication industry for over 20 years. The Opencord project is internally funded and we are dedicated to making it a long-term success in the Web3 era. For more information about Opencord, please feel free to check out our light paper (opens in a new tab).

This is a general issue that currently exists in the Web3 space, and we are all working hard towards working out a balance. At the moment, our users will need to follow the corresponding policies of their country of residence. And Opencord will take a progressively decentralised approach, and eventually all user data will be on chain. If you are interested in this topic, you can read our data privacy here (opens in a new tab).