Statim vs Session
Session and Statim start the same way: no phone number, no email, just words the app makes on your device. Session then sends everything through its own onion-routed network. Statim connects you to several existing protocols at once and keeps them in one chat list.
At a glance
| Feature | Statim | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up with | Nothing | Nothing |
| Encrypted by default | On XMTP, Nostr and Status | Yes, except Communities |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | Yes, GPL 3.0 |
| Your own server | Nostr, Status, Matrix | Community servers |
| Wallet | Yes, off by default | No |
| Calls | No | 1:1, in beta |
Your account
Session gives you an Account ID and a Recovery Password, which is a list of words. Statim gives you twelve words. In both, nobody can reset the account: lose the words and the device, and it is gone.
What a restore brings back differs. Session restores 14 days of messages, and your contacts and groups only if one of your devices was online in the last 30 days. In Statim the phrase brings back the account, its addresses and the wallet, and history depends on the protocol: XMTP restores it from its nodes, Telegram and Matrix from their servers, Nostr and Status only what their relays and store nodes still hold.
Who sees what
Session sends messages as onion requests, so no single node knows both where a message came from and where it is going. By Session's own FAQ, two things get around that: fast push notifications show your IP address to Apple or Google and your Account ID to a server the Session Technology Foundation runs, and a call shows your IP address to the other person.
Statim has no onion routing. Each protocol's nodes and relays see your network address: XMTP nodes see that two inboxes talk, Nostr relays see who receives a message but not who sent it, Status nodes see which topics you follow. If hiding your IP address from the network matters most to you, Session does more here.
Encryption
Session encrypts DMs and groups end to end, without forward secrecy for now. Its Protocol v2 adds forward secrecy and post-quantum keys; it is written but not yet in the apps. Session Communities are encrypted only on the way to their server.
In Statim, XMTP uses MLS with forward secrecy, Nostr uses sealed DMs (NIP-17), and Status moves to a Double Ratchet once both sides have written. Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted, and every Telegram chat says so.
Network and money
Session Nodes are run by the community, and a full node stakes 25,000 SESH, a token on Ethereum and Arbitrum launched in May 2025. The app has no wallet. The foundation behind Session is in Switzerland, and wrote in 2026 that it now runs on donations with two or three developers. Statim is smaller still: one maintainer, and no token.
Statim's wallet holds Ethereum and its chains, Bitcoin and Solana, from the same twelve words as the account. It stays off until you turn it on.
Which one to pick
Pick Statim if
- You want XMTP, Nostr, Status, Telegram and Matrix chats in one list.
- You want forward secrecy today, which XMTP has.
- You want a self-custody wallet in the same app.
- You want people to reach you by an Ethereum address or ENS name.
Pick Session if
- Hiding your IP address from the network matters more to you than anything else here.
- The people you talk to are already on Session.
- You want 1:1 calls, which Session has in beta.
The details
| Detail | Statim | Session |
|---|---|---|
| To sign up | Nothing. The app makes twelve words on your device, and they are your account. No phone number, no email. | Nothing. An Account ID and a Recovery Password, a list of words made on your device. |
| End-to-end encryption | Always on XMTP, Nostr and Status. On Matrix, in chats with encryption on. Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted, same as in Telegram's own app. | DMs and groups, without forward secrecy until Session Protocol v2 reaches the apps. Communities are encrypted only on the way to their server. |
| Who runs the servers | Each protocol's own nodes, relays and homeservers. The developer runs none of them. You can point the app at your own Nostr relays, Status node or Matrix homeserver. | Session Nodes, run by the community and staked with SESH. Onion routing means no node sees both ends of a message. Communities run on servers their owners host. |
| Open source | The whole app, MIT licence. | The apps under GPL 3.0; the node software under MIT and GPL 3.0. |
| Other networks | XMTP, Nostr, Status, Telegram and Matrix in one chat list. WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, Discord and others through a Matrix bridge you run. | None. |
| Wallet | Ethereum and its chains, Bitcoin and Solana, from the same twelve words. A plugin, off until you turn it on. Ledger, Trezor and Keystone work too. | None in the app. The SESH token pays for staking nodes. |
| Voice and video calls | None. | 1:1 calls in beta, off by default. No group calls. |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows and Linux. iPhone in beta on TestFlight, Android in open testing on Google Play. | iPhone, Android, macOS, Windows and Linux. |
Sources
Session’s side was checked against these pages on . Write to [email protected] if something has changed.