The Open Community (TON) has launched an on-chain encrypted messaging function, in accordance with a July 3 announcement from the community’s developer, TON Basis. The brand new function permits for personal messages to be despatched between TON customers. 

TON is a blockchain community forked from code created by the Telegram prompt messaging app crew. Telegram deserted the venture in July 2020, earlier than a mainnet was ever launched. Nonetheless, it open-sourced TON’s code earlier than leaving, permitting others to proceed constructing upon the work it had executed.

The present community, known as “TON,” was constructed by the TON Basis. The muse claims that the community gives higher scalability and transaction throughput than different choices within the Web3 ecosystem whereas additionally remaining decentralized.

TON has at all times allowed customers to ship messages in transactions. However up to now, these messages had been fully public. The brand new function permits customers to encrypt these messages finish to finish, making them readable solely by the meant recipient.

TON core developer Anatoly Makosov claimed the function was created to permit for the “personalization” of transactions:

“When sending Toncoin, Jettons, or NFTs on TON you might have at all times been capable of embrace a textual content for the recipient similar to ‘for espresso’ or ‘pleased birthday’, thereby personalising the interplay. Now this in style function […] is obtainable with full encryption.”

Makosov added that it additionally can be helpful if an “apocalypse” happens that causes conventional messenger servers to fail. On this case, TON can function a “dependable” and “safeguarded” methodology to speak privately.

Encrypted messages are at the moment obtainable utilizing a number of retail pockets apps, together with MyTonWallet, OpenMask and TON Pockets. The function may also be added to cellular pockets Tonkeeper “in upcoming updates,” the announcement said.

In Could, the TON Basis launched a $25 million accelerator program to encourage app builders to construct on the community. In November, an unbiased growth crew created a Telegram buying and selling bot to onboard customers to TON.