Gateway-Free by Design: Building a Browser for Permissionless Networks

Peer-to-peer protocols remove central servers, but their users still depend on HTTP gateways, DNS, extension stores, and wallet extensions. This talk shares the engineering lessons from shipping Freedom Browser, a working open-source browser with integrated Swarm, IPFS, and Radicle nodes, native Ethereum name resolution, a native wallet, and one-flow peer-to-peer publishing.

Using evidence from 7,000+ organic downloads across 139 countries, I will examine node lifecycle and resource constraints, protocol-aware navigation, name-resolution trust boundaries, browser security, and the gap between technical possibility and daily-driver retention. Attendees will leave with a practical model for identifying hidden intermediaries in decentralized applications and designing browser access that remains usable when gateways, stores, or network paths fail.

Speakers: Meinhard Benn

Track: Permissionless Networks