After five years of development, Freenet (now Hyphanet) has launched as a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized applications. Users can now access apps like River, a decentralized group chat, and Delta, a decentralized CMS. The platform allows anyone to build their own apps on the network, including games and a search engine called Atlas currently in development.

Architecturally, Freenet operates as a global, decentralized key-value store where keys are webassembly contracts. The platform solves the consistency problem with a unique approach requiring commutative merge operations, allowing state updates to spread through the network like a virus, achieving consistent global state in seconds.

Freenet applications run in browsers but connect locally to the peer via websocket rather than to datacenter APIs. Users can download apps directly from the network. The platform offers installers for major desktop operating systems, with mobile support still in development. Users can be chatting on River within seconds of installation.

The project represents an alternative to traditional cloud-based applications, creating a network where apps cannot be taken down and don't track users. Built by a small team funded through grants and donations, Freenet aims to establish decentralized internet infrastructure.