<s>
Twister	B-Application
is	O
an	O
experimental	O
peer-to-peer	O
microblogging	B-Application
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
both	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
-	O
and	O
Bitcoin-like	O
protocols	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
likened	O
to	O
a	O
distributed	O
version	O
of	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
author	O
Miguel	O
Freitas	O
posted	O
that	O
he	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
leading	O
Twister	B-Application
development	O
for	O
the	O
foreseeable	O
future	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
Twister	B-Application
network	O
continued	O
functioning	O
,	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
others	O
might	O
wish	O
to	O
fork	B-Application
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Twister	B-Application
core	O
had	O
been	O
at	O
version	O
0.9.40	O
since	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
remained	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
is	O
a	O
Twitter-like	O
microblogging	B-Application
platform	O
that	O
utilizes	O
the	O
same	O
blockchain	O
technology	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
the	O
file	O
exchange	O
method	O
from	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
both	O
based	O
on	O
P2P	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
seobloggingpro.com	O
ranked	O
Twister	B-Application
as	O
the	O
number	O
13	O
microblogging	B-Application
site	O
,	O
while	O
seosandwitch.com	O
ranked	O
Twister	B-Application
as	O
the	O
number	O
4	O
microblogging	B-Application
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Twister	B-Application
,	O
the	O
ranking	O
is	O
not	O
of	O
the	O
website	O
itself	O
,	O
which	O
exists	O
primarily	O
to	O
facilitate	O
downloads	O
of	O
the	O
Twister	B-Application
platform	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
was	O
experimental	O
software	O
in	O
alpha	O
phase	O
,	O
implemented	O
as	O
a	O
distributed	O
file	O
sharing	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
User	O
registration	O
and	O
authentication	O
is	O
provided	O
by	O
a	O
Bitcoin-like	O
network	O
,	O
so	O
it	O
is	O
completely	O
distributed	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
depend	O
on	O
any	O
central	O
authority	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distribution	O
of	O
posts	O
uses	O
Kademlia	B-Operating_System
distributed	B-Operating_System
hash	I-Operating_System
table	I-Operating_System
(	O
DHT	O
)	O
network	O
and	O
BitTorrent-like	O
swarms	O
,	O
both	O
provided	O
by	O
libtorrent	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Included	O
versions	O
of	O
both	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
and	O
are	O
highly	O
patched	O
,	O
and	O
intentionally	O
not	O
interoperable	O
with	O
the	O
already	O
existing	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miguel	O
Freitas	O
,	O
aiming	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
censor-resistant	O
public	O
posting	O
platform	O
,	O
began	O
development	O
on	O
Twister	B-Application
in	O
July	O
2013	O
to	O
address	O
the	O
concerns	O
of	O
free	O
speech	O
and	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Building	O
on	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
and	O
Bittorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
he	O
built	O
the	O
core	O
structure	O
in	O
October	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
completely	O
decentralized	O
network	O
,	O
Twister	B-Application
cannot	O
be	O
incapacitated	O
since	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
unique	O
point	O
of	O
attack	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
uses	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
to	O
protect	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
is	O
designed	O
to	O
prevent	O
other	O
users	O
from	O
knowing	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
GSM	O
localization	O
,	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
who	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
following	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
publish	O
public	O
messages	O
as	O
with	O
other	O
microblogging	B-Application
platforms	O
,	O
but	O
direct	O
messages	O
and	O
private	O
messages	O
to	O
other	O
users	O
are	O
protected	O
from	O
unauthorised	O
entry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Freitas	O
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
is	O
the	O
social	O
network	O
that	O
has	O
been	O
most	O
prominent	O
in	O
promoting	O
democracy	O
and	O
organizing	O
protests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Freitas	O
built	O
Twister	B-Application
using	O
on	O
privacy-preserving	O
technology	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
risks	O
involved	O
in	O
providing	O
personal	O
information	O
on	O
social	O
networks	O
in	O
light	O
of	O
the	O
mass	O
surveillance	O
conducted	O
by	O
the	O
NSA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Freitas	O
and	O
his	O
developer	O
,	O
Leal	O
,	O
built	O
the	O
alpha	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
application	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
for	O
Windows	O
and	O
iPhone	B-Device
are	O
not	O
planned	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
anyone	O
can	O
create	O
alternative	O
operating	O
system	O
versions	O
for	O
the	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
in	O
alpha	O
phase	O
Brian	O
Armstrong	O
,	O
co-founder	O
of	O
Coinbase	O
,	O
believed	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
great	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
the	O
open	O
protocol	O
of	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
diverse	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
is	O
a	O
distributed	O
system	O
,	O
it	O
works	O
as	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
decentralized	O
networks	O
(	O
like	O
pump.io/Identi.ca	O
,	O
StatusNet/GNU	O
social	O
or	O
Diaspora	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
use	O
their	O
own	O
server	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
trust	O
a	O
third-party	O
server	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
achieved	O
through	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
protocol	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
through	O
the	O
network	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
cryptocurrency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
miners	O
verify	O
transactions	O
on	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
network	O
to	O
combat	O
double	O
spending	O
,	O
the	O
Twister	B-Application
network	O
verifies	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
names	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
message	O
posted	O
by	O
a	O
specific	O
user	O
is	O
really	O
from	O
that	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
messages	O
are	O
driven	O
through	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Twister	B-Application
uses	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
,	O
if	O
intercepted	O
,	O
the	O
private	O
direct	O
messages	O
cannot	O
be	O
read	O
by	O
any	O
other	O
person	O
apart	O
from	O
the	O
addressee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
used	O
is	O
the	O
elliptic	O
curve	O
cryptography	O
(	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
one	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
NSA	O
)	O
that	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
thought	O
to	O
give	O
a	O
security	O
level	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
RSA	B-Architecture
code	O
of	O
3072	O
bits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Freitas	O
explains	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
designed	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
the	O
users	O
cannot	O
know	O
if	O
the	O
other	O
is	O
online	O
,	O
their	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
what	O
messages	O
have	O
been	O
read	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
under	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
environment	O
,	O
migrated	O
successfully	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
way	O
,	O
users	O
would	O
be	O
capable	O
of	O
accessing	O
Twister	B-Application
through	O
any	O
client	O
platform	O
that	O
they	O
use	O
,	O
choosing	O
any	O
third-party	O
server	O
and	O
still	O
maintaining	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
their	O
private	O
passwords	O
at	O
all	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Twister	B-Application
prototype	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
reproduce	O
the	O
basic	O
characteristics	O
of	O
any	O
microblogging	B-Application
platform	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
is	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
microblogging	B-Application
platform	O
without	O
a	O
central	O
node	O
mediating	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twister	B-Application
uses	O
256-bit	O
ECC	O
encryption	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
parameters	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
providing	O
similar	O
security	O
to	O
a	O
3072-bit	O
RSA	B-Architecture
key	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
significant	O
bug	O
bounty	O
was	O
offered	O
,	O
payable	O
in	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
for	O
identified	O
design	O
flaws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peers	O
 '	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
are	O
not	O
recorded	O
within	O
the	O
application	O
,	O
which	O
avoids	O
tracking	O
of	O
peers	O
if	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
later	O
compromised	O
,	O
but	O
network	O
interception	O
can	O
still	O
identify	O
data	O
flows	O
between	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
be	O
100%	O
anonymous	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
browser	O
that	O
masks	O
the	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
Tor	B-Application
or	O
similar	O
.	O
</s>
