Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness another Release Roundup, anyone who should object, speak now or forever hold your peace! No one? Great, because we got emojis dropping, bringing some long awaited 🔥🔥🔥.

Although it's been quite a while in between round ups (it’s great to be back), the Session Team has never been busier — working on a few massive UI/UX developments, as we continue to push towards making Session the best private messaging app available. 

Hot off the press, our big ticket items are emoji reacts and ID blinding. This means that the way you interact with other Session users has been the focus of all our love and attention.

Emoji reacts have been a long requested priority that we are stoked to roll out across all platforms. Reacts are a big win for the organic flow of conversation on Session (giving you more control over making plans, responding to friends and using Session as your daily messenger). 

This update also doubles down on the safety of your open group experience as we introduce ID blinding, further preserving your digital safety on Session. This means securing your Session identity, while also rolling out a new way for open group users to contact you —which is both safer and more secure — and a new database refactor for iOS which brings significant performance improvements. 

Read our full rundown below! 👇

Emoji Reacts (All Platforms):

Sometimes a little 👍 goes a long way! Emoji Reacts are coming to messages across all platforms. However you want to react, respond, or retort; you can do it using your fav 🤠 or 💃.You know the drill, just right-click (or long-press on mobile) and you're on your way...  

Note: Emoji reacts will not be available in open groups which are not running the most up-to-date software.

ID Blinding (All Platforms): 

We’re juicing up open groups; for a safer, improved, more private messaging experience. 

ID blinding represents Session's continued focus on keeping you safe and spam-free whilst interacting with open groups. We are introducing a system whereby ID blinding will hide your real Session ID; meaning you can interact with the Session community with peace of mind. ID blinding allows folks to message other Session users from open groups without exposing your real Session ID. In open groups, Session will generate a new cryptographic ID, called a blinded Session ID. Other people in your open groups can send you a message using your blinded ID — so they can get in touch without ever seeing your real Session ID (this works the same if you message someone else). Don't worry though, this invitation still goes to your message request inbox and your real Session ID is only shared if you accept the message request and start chatting with them! 

Note: Although ID Blinding capabilities have rolled out to Session clients, they won't be available until they're enabled by open group servers. This feature is not currently enabled in any open groups. It will be enabled in official open groups first, and it will roll out in community-operated open groups over the next few weeks — so stay tuned for further updates on ID Blinding.

QOL updates (iOS):

This one’s pretty broad but as Session's users' needs grow we strive for the little tweaks which continue to improve the way that the app feels. This update mainly focuses on the way media and quotes are displayed.

Database Refactor (iOS):

iOS messages have migrated to a newer and faster database, which will improve the performance of Session on iOS, whilst also making it easier for developers to add new features moving forward. 

Session Push Notifications (Desktop):

Desktop push notification improvements — you wanted them, you got them...

The update to the Oxen Storage Server lets it create a direct point-to-point connection with the push notification server, which will provide a push notification delivery performance boost for users signed up to use FCM/APNS once the client-side changes roll out in the coming months.

In the future, you will also be able to manage connections to the service node network and authentication from Session clients to deliver those sweet push notifications. 

Closed Group Functionality Improvements:

We know closed groups are just as important as the open ones; so we've added a closed group member revocation list, which will be used in our upcoming closed group overhaul. This update will prevent kicked members from fetching messages related to a closed group. We've also added the ability for non moderators to update message TTL in this upcoming redesign.

Tune in Next Time…

Though that may sadly bring us to the end of today’s Release Roundup, the work never stops at Session. Our team has been hard at work over the last few months preparing for the drop of our Session themes. Even though we've launched emoji reacts, the work on UI/UX never stops because we know that the better Session looks and feels, the better it is for our users. So keep your eyes peeled for some new accents and theme colours making their way onto the App.  In the words of our CTO (Kee), “the theme update is for all you Session green haters…”, or converted into marketing speak: "We’re excited to develop the look and feel of Session for the needs of all our users." Alongside the classic Session green look and feel —  we’re adding “Day” and “Night” to improve the diversity and customisation of the Session experience.  

For all the goss; follow our socials, update channels, Session blogs, and weekly labs for updates straight from our HQ! You can catch the lab updates here on our YouTube, or on the Oxen website.

Thank you!

As usual, without you, our dear readers, commenters, followers, users and distant relatives we wouldn't have the Session we know and love today. We take on all your feedback and suggestions and put them at the forefront of our development process  —  so we thank you for your encouragement and support.  Keep all that feedback rolling in because it really does help us shape the future of Session.

Until next time,

— The Session Team ✌️

We’re happy to help with any questions you might have. Check out more information on our helpful features at the link below or reach out to us at [email protected]