Dev

This week the Session team published releases on both Android and iOS. The iOS release focussed on a number of bug fixes which improve app usability, including fixing some nasty issues with read receipts. The Android release is focused on improved performance and fixes to some of the more common crashes especially those related to voice/video calls; this release will be rolling out to all users now.

The Session team also continued their work on our three core tasks:

1. Fixing and overhauling disappearing messages so that when messages disappear from your device they disappear from the swarm

2. Overhauling the way configuration messages are handled and how this information is synced between devices, this includes profile image syncing, contact syncing, group syncing and read message syncing.

3. Overhauling the closed group system to include supporting multiple admins, more reliable key rotations, better moderation capabilities and standardised implementations across all platforms.

The Oxen core team continued their work on wallet3 with a particular focus on integrating the ability to register ONS names in the new wallet.

The Lokinet team continued their focus on refactoring parts of the Lokinet core to make code easier to maintain and understand, as well as fixing any bugs encountered in the implementation. This work is happening alongside onboarding new Lokinet team members into liblokinet so that improvements can be made.

Oxen Core

• Update Seed Nodes (removing some inactive nodes and replacing with active nodes)

Session

Session Android

• Fix issue where message bubble could be incorrectly sized

• Add a missing parameter to the SMS & MSS projections

• Ongoing work to integrate libsession-util & updated config message management

https://github.com/oxen-io/session-android/pull/1102 

• Added the ability to copy the sessionId of open group URL from the conversation menu

• Added additional logging to the BatchMessageReceiveJob to make future debugging easier

• Removed the OpenGroupMigrator

• Updated the JobQueue logging to provide more insight

• Fixed an issue where the database migrations weren't blocking which could result in failing/crashing SQL queries

• Fixed an issue where the new database file wouldn't be removed if a migration error was thrown

• Fixed an issue where the new database could exist in an invalid state and the app wouldn't attempt to remigrate

• Fixed an incorrectly throw exception in the PassphrasePromptActivity

Session iOS

• Ongoing work on libsession-util integration & updated config message management

• Fix a number of bugs

1. Updated the PathStatusView to take Reachability into account for it's status indicator

2. Fixed a bug where including emojis in a message that ended with a URL would result in incorrect URL detection

3. Fixed an odd UI glitch which could occur when message cells updated (delivery/read state could overlap temporarily)

4. Fixed an issue where a user couldn't delete their own messages sent to a community

5. Fixed an issue where the app didn't require a passcode to be set to use screen lock

6. Fixed an issue where the delivery status on a sending message might not update when on the conversation screen

7. Fixed an issue where read receipts weren't working

Session Desktop

• Update better SQLite package

• Ongoing progress on disappearing messages overhaul

• Ongoing work to integrate libsession-util & updated config message management

libsession-util 

• Add automatic compression and decompression

• Ongoing work on adding more configuration message types to libsession

Session Push Notifications Server 

https://github.com/oxen-io/session-push-notification-server/pull/23 

1. Replace unmaintained framework

2. Add support for HUAWEI Pushkit (For users with Huawei devices which cannot install Google services)

3. Make logs clearer

4. Refactor code

Lokinet

• Platform-layer (i.e. for OS interaction) redesign

• Fix bad lokinet key service node error

• Fix MIPS32 build (for openwrt)

• Authenticated endpoints for remote interactions

• Documentation improvements

Marketing

Hey again everyone! This week we focused on ongoing audits and changes for Oxen Docs, the 🗺 roadmap, the Session Whitepaper v2, and the Session Tapes. 

We’re currently completing a full audit of the Oxen FAQ and Documentation. This is in preparation for some upgrades and improvements which will be arriving to the Oxen Docs in the coming weeks. Cam has also been working on a similar audit for the Session FAQ and is now rolling out changes.

After recent discussions, Chris and I are now working with other members of the marketing team on the production and rollout of the new project roadmap.

Alex and Kee have been chipping away at edits for the Session Whitepaper v2. They’re getting pretty close now, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before you have this in your hands complete with updated information about the Session Protocol, onion requests, and other features that have been modified or added since Session’s original design.

Session Tapes Episode 6 was recorded and published. Note that it is posted on the new Session YouTube channel. The Oxen YouTube was active, but disorganised. We think that was hampering growth, so we are splitting the channels. 

Connor has been working on onboarding optimisations for Session’s UI/UX, including working with Alex to change some key copy around account restoration. 

We finalised the details of an upcoming crypto conference sponsorship where we will also be participating via talks and panels. More on that later. 

Some other tidbits include Cam and Connor putting out this infographic on the Session Twitter, Session getting a shoutout from Bitwarden, early talks re: a revitalised and upgraded Oxen Knights, and early drafts for a new Oxen Hypepaper.