Session is shutting down in 90 days

What happened

The Session Technology Foundation announced that the privacy-focused messenger has entered its final 90 days of operation unless it hits a funding target. The foundation says it has raised roughly $65,000 — enough to keep critical infrastructure online for three months — but not enough to keep paid developers on staff. All paid employees are slated to have their final working day on April 9, 2026, and volunteers will reportedly try to maintain the project until July 8, 2026. It has been reported that Session recently surpassed 1.7 million monthly active users.

Why it matters

How does a service with millions of downloads live hand to mouth? Because secure, decentralized software is expensive to build and maintain. The foundation estimates a lean operating budget of about $1 million per year to retain core developers, cover legal and operational costs, and keep the lights on. The emotional punch here is real: the teams behind Session are described as highly skilled engineers who “have bills to pay, and families to feed.” It’s a stark reminder that community popularity doesn’t automatically translate to sustainable funding.

What’s next

The foundation says this is a final appeal: if sufficient funding isn’t secured, the STF will cease operations on July 8, 2026, and any donations that can’t be used under the organization’s constitution will be publicly donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Volunteers will keep the app running for as long as they can, and the team has asked anyone able to help to contact donations@getsession.org. In short: the app that pitched itself as a privacy refuge is now asking its users a blunt question — will you step up, or watch it fade?

Sources: getsession.org, Hacker News