https://getaether.net/mim-docs/flows/A lot of people are curious about how Aether's network operates. The typical process is explained in the above documentation.
@GloryBeckons kindly
mentioned some concerns about Aether. I would like to quickly try and respond to some of the points he raises.
Content The content on Aether is text only. By default, thumbnails are off, so you don't download or see any images. You can whitelist individual or lists of websites which you find acceptable.
IP Address I think most people use a VPN, TOR, i2p or something like that. Your node will connect to a few others on the network in its neighbourhood.
Associating a Node with Content @GloryBeckons is correct. With a lot of work, it would be possible through a process of elimination to eventually work out which node on the network was producing which content and it might then be possible to connect the node to an IP address. Of course, this is not desirable from an anonymity perspective, however you might be curious to know that there are strong grounds for making this concession, explained here in
Aether's Security Model:
https://getaether.net/docs/faq/how_private_is_aether/
Let’s think through this step by step.
Aether needs to be a tool for the masses. This means, it needs to be exceedingly easy to use, and be accessible for the regular user.
Any improvement to the privacy of an average user is multiplied by the number of people using the app. The most good in this respect can be done not via making sure it works for the expectations of users with extreme needs, but by making sure that it is as private as possible while retaining excellent user-experience. Good user experience brings a lot more folks to the yard than theoretically perfect security on paper.5
As a result, this is Aether’s security model: It’s designed for the average user who wants privacy. If you’re looking for an escape from corporate surveillance, or indiscriminate dragnets, it’s very useful.
Aether isn’t an app that tries to pitch privacy as one of its main features. Rather, it’s a communication app that can stand on its own merits, that also happens to come with excellent (qualified by the paragraph above) privacy.
TL/DR The more people using Aether, the stronger the anonymity, and Aether aims to grow anonymity by ease of use.
TOR
Aether does support TOR. If you know what you are doing, you should be able to configure it.
Protection against State actors
As @GloryBeckons points out, Aether isn't designed to resist a concerted attack by state actors. It would be great if we had that level of protection. For such communications you are probably better off using e.g.:
Session MuWire
OnionShare I encourage people to use these applications when higher levels of security are required. The problem is, and i am sure @GloryBeckons will agree, that it doesn't end there. You then have to ensure that your Operating System is reasonably secure too, for example:
Qubes OS
You would have to learn how to maintain and use that OS too, and also have it with you when you need to communicate. You would probably want to ditch all your hardware too and go back to something running:
LibreBoot It takes discipline to stick to the Free Software that you can audit. You need also to persuade your friends and family to use your systems too. The task is enormous. Aether takes the approach that it is easy,anybody can do it, it is fun to use and it is actually pretty darn secure.
Ephemeral By default, the settings are that your node will only retain content for 6 months. If you want to archive and have a few Gigabytes of storage to spare, you can increase that to 6 years or 60 years.
Voat.co is, sadly, dead. Aether was around back then and it would have been better if people started using Aether then and survived. SearchVoat.co has announced it will die in a couple of weeks. It is time Goats established Voat on a strong platform. Take a look at Aether. Alternatively, try https://gab.com, which has come along in leaps and bounds and is a far more likely candidate to survive as an http platform.
