Hyphanet

Peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant, anonymous communication

About Hyphanet

Hyphanet, formerly Freenet, is a peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant, anonymous communication and publishing. Its decentralized distributed data store lets users share files, browse and publish static freesites that exist only inside the network, and exchange messages on forums without revealing their identity. Written in Java and released as free software, it serves journalists, activists, and privacy-conscious users who need publishing channels resilient to blocking and surveillance.

Hyphanet website preview

Live preview of hyphanet.org via the WordPress mShots service — it can take a few seconds to generate on a first visit.

Hyphanet: strengths & things to check

Strengths

Completely free to use — this directory lists no paid plan for it.
Covers peer to peer, anonymity, file sharing, open source — see the focus areas listed in its key facts.
Has 6 close alternatives in the same category on this page, so switching or comparing is easy.

Things to check

Free tools can change their model or shut down — avoid locking critical work into it without an export path.
Current plan prices are not listed here (they change too often to print reliably) — confirm the exact price on the official site.
It is one of 565 tools in the Communication & Collaboration category here — compare it against the alternatives below before you commit.

Derived from this listing's own data (pricing model, focus areas and category) — not a hands-on review score.

Hyphanet pricing

Pricing model	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Free access	Yes — fully free
Current plan prices	Listed on the official site — prices change, so this directory links out instead of printing a number that may already be stale.
Official site	hyphanet.org

Hyphanet key facts

Category: Communication & Collaboration
Pricing: Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas: peer to peer, anonymity, file sharing, open source
Official site: hyphanet.org

Hyphanet FAQ

How much does Hyphanet cost?

Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it. Current plans and prices are listed on the official site (hyphanet.org).

What is Hyphanet used for?

Peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant, anonymous communication Its focus areas in the Communication & Collaboration category: peer to peer, anonymity, file sharing, open source.

Where can I try Hyphanet?

On its official site, hyphanet.org — the Visit Official Site button above goes straight there.

Hyphanet vs alternatives

	Hyphanet	Briar	RetroShare	Akkoma
Pricing	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas	peer to peer, anonymity, file sharing, open source	messaging, peer to peer, open source	decentralized, encrypted chat, file sharing, open source	fediverse, activitypub, microblogging, self hosted, open source
Official site	hyphanet.org	briarproject.org	retroshare.cc	akkoma.social
Directory status	Listed	Listed	Listed	Listed

Side-by-side from each listing's own directory data. Full alternative cards are below.

About the Communication & Collaboration category

Chat, video meetings, and messaging apps that keep teams connected. The Communication & Collaboration category on Tools Hub currently lists 565 tools. Alongside Hyphanet, it includes GoToSocial, Ech0, Mumble, GNU Mailman.

FreeCommunication & Collaborationpeer-to-peeranonymityfile-sharingopen-source

Alternatives to Hyphanet

Tools in the same Communication & Collaboration category that share focus areas with Hyphanet — worth comparing before you commit:

Communication & Collaboration

Briar

Peer-to-peer messenger that works over Tor and local networks without central

Freemessagingpeer-to-peeropen-source

Communication & Collaboration

RetroShare

Secure, decentralized communication with chat, mail and file sharing

Freedecentralizedencrypted-chatfile-sharingopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

Akkoma

Magically expressive federated social media server software

Freefediverseactivitypubmicrobloggingself-hosted

Communication & Collaboration

Apache OpenMeetings

Open-source video conferencing, whiteboard and groupware from Apache

Freevideo-conferencingwhiteboardgroupwareself-hosted

Communication & Collaboration

Asterisk

Open-source IP PBX, VoIP gateway and conference server framework

Freevoippbxsiptelephony

Communication & Collaboration

b1gMail

Self-hosted webmail solution that runs on ordinary PHP webspace

Freewebmailself-hostedphpopen-source

More in Communication & Collaboration

Comparing tools in the Communication & Collaboration category? These related listings are worth a look: GoToSocial — Fast, fun, ActivityPub server, powered by Go; Ech0 — Open-source, self-hosted lightweight publishing for personal ideas; Mumble — Free, open source, low-latency, high-quality voice chat.