Why do we need nostr?

Social media is broken

Today, social communication is mostly dominated by a few large, centralized platforms. These platforms have a huge impact on how we interact and what we share with each other. They get to decide what content is allowed and can censor or ban users as they see fit.

This centralization of power has led to a number of problems with legacy social media. The two most apparent ones are:

• Attention: Centralized social media platforms collect a vast amount of data about their users. This data is used to track users' activities, target them with advertising, target them with content, and even influence their behavior.
• Censorship: Centralized social media platforms often censor content that they deem to be controversial or offensive. This has led to accusations of bias and suppression of free speech.

nostr fixes all of the problems of legacy social media.

• Decentralization: Unlike traditional platforms that rely on central servers, nostr is decentralized. This means there’s no single point of control or failure, reducing the risk of censorship and outages.
• User Control: With nostr, users own their data and can control their own content. This is in contrast to traditional platforms where the company often controls the data and can use it in various ways.
• Open Protocol: nostr is based on an open protocol, allowing anyone to create and use compatible applications. This fosters innovation and ensures that the ecosystem isn’t dominated by a few large players.
• Censorship Resistance: Because nostr is decentralized and relies on multiple relays, it’s harder for any single entity to censor content or ban users. This promotes a more open and free exchange of ideas.
• Transparency: The open nature of nostr means that its workings are more transparent, and users can choose their own algorithms and regain control over their attention.

Is nostr for you?

• nostr might be for you if you don't want a large tech companies, such as Meta or X, to hold and be in charge of all your social data.
• nostr might befor you if you want to use social media to communicate with people online in an ad-free, algorithm-free environment — like you used to years ago. Just humans being humans without software getting in the way.
• nostr might befor you if you hate platform lock-in. You can ditch any nostr client and join another without losing all your friends and content. When you switch Nostr clients, your entire social graph comes with you.