this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2026
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Privacy
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I2P
I2P!
I2PPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!
We can build another internet here, if we want to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2P
Imagine p2p torrents, but crazy encrypted, and you build an internet out of that. That's basically I2P.
Everyone is a dns/routing server for everyone else, and no one actually knows whose traffic is going where.
If you stay inside of I2P, its basically impossible to be de anonymized, unlike with TOR, where a government LE or Intel agency can just operate nodes and de anonymize people.
I wish someone would figure out how to combine Hyphanet (original Freenet) and I2P. Basically the network based storage rather than having to have each services server online all the time to work.
Written in … Java!
Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Jokes aside; very cool.
Java is actually good as a programming language and platform. It's actually great for this usecase because it's fast enough, has enough talent pool, and is high level enough to enable creating new complex stuff. Rust and cpp are too low level to enable simple creation of complex stuff. That's why we mostly se rust rewrites and less original ideas. The only problem might be the oracle licensing stuff for such project. I know you're joking tough.
There's a version written in C++: https://github.com/PurpleI2P/i2pd
Also a rather new rust implementation https://github.com/eepnet/emissary
Shit I didn't even know that existed, thanks!
Using I2Pd very sucessfully on my node. Can recommend!
Because its old. (And arguably battle tested).
This only works until governments start blocking it. Right?
I mean, no 100% guarantees here, but I don't know how they would block it...
I guess they could just block an entire massive port range or something, but I think that would break a good chunk of the internet.
I think the more realistic fear in this case would be your own at home router or pc itself having backdoors and rootkits you don't know about, that then 'phone home', or perhaps store some kind of local log you don't know exists, that they grab physically.
Yeah I think they'd have to basically say 'its illegal to use anything other than a US gov approved router and browser and OS, brought to you by megagcorp,' full on cyberpunk fascist overdrive.
Now would even that totally block it? Technically, no, effectively, probably?
Honestly, do you own research on this... I'm not an expert, I could be wrong, but my understanding of it so far is that... yeah, it would take 'unthinkable' measures to effectively block this.
Y'know what? I've been waiting to try it, but I shall wait no more. Thanks for the little push <3
Happy to be an annoying yet hopefully ultimately positive influence, lol.
Is it okay if I DM you any questions that come up while I explore this magical new world called I2P?
Hah uh yeah, sure!
Though, As I've said elsewhere... in terms of actual implementation of this, I'm really a novice at best, maybe up to 'intermediate' at a few things.
From the rest of this thread, it seems kyliann0087 is more well versed in this, has their own bit of an ongoing service set up in i2p land...
I am happy to try to help, but you might ask them what you've just asked of me, I suspect if they agreed, they'd be more useful than I would be.
I'm uh... more of an I2P fanboy/evangelist, lol.
EDIT
ok here are some of the resources i mentioned earlier/elswhere in the thread, but was too lazy to link earlier:
Mental Outlaw:
Intro to I2P (5 yo youtube video)
Make Linux Ungovernable with I2P (much more recent youtube video)
How I run Darknets From My Home Internet (5 yo odysee video, because some of this content/info is apparently too spicy for YouTube)
An 'Awesome-I2P' list, basically a curated list of many different I2P projects/software:
https://github.com/mikalv/awesome-i2p
Ooooooo I know what I’m doing after a heady nap! Thank you!
Lol no problem! I'm a fangirl/evangelist for Linux, and I'm only intermediate at it.
Thanks for the resouces; I love awesome-* lists! Also the videos look rather interesting (I see that Linux-Libre penguin...)
I'll get started today, methinks. It's my day off :3
I think MO sells his own merch shirts, with linux inspired/related designs.
Like the penguin with showering equipment... that he almost certainly designed to be worn to conventions, with linux people, to politely remind them to bathe, lol.
Oh no, the showering penguin is official. He's the mascot for Linux-Libre, a fork which cleans up the kernel by removing non-free, proprietary blobs.
...sonuvabitch.
Welp, there I go, projecting again, hahahah!
... did not know that.
dw, i need to shower more too!
probably most fediverse users do
... I can't shower or draw a bath until it gets below at least 80F ... or ... my entire apartment will become a sauna and basically give me heat stroke.
Yay super el nino.... ughhhhh....
I take cold showers in the Summer. Otherwise, I literally sweat. Like, in the shower.
Same, on all counts.
Problem is that we're above the temp where the AC can really do anything, where I am... it is simply too hot outside.
So, if I turn on the steam machine, im just wet bulbing myself in the next hour or two, even if the shower itself is cooling.
It'd turn into a sauna, one that I can't really meaningfully air out, because it is also humid outside.
... Still 86F. Might be 80F in 2 or 3 hours... uggggh i am a bog monster lol.
I read through the wiki. How do I actually use it?
https://i2p.net/en/docs/
This might help.
I won't lie, setting it up and configuring it and actually using it is basically confusing as fuck... I've been doing this kind of shit for decades, and this is fucking complicated to me.
So... yeah. If more people could use this, maybe we could actually get something approximating a user friendly set up/usage guide or setup script type thing.
I think MentalOutlaw has a video or two explaining it, but... those would be several years old by now, may be out of date.
This is great for now but still uses the same hardware and infrastructure as the "regular" internet and is therefore susceptible to government control. Granted, they'd have to cut way deeper than just age verification laws.
Unless there is another zero day, like in 2014.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2014/07/29/i2p-patched-against-de-anonymizing-0-day-tails-integration-still-to-follow/
Yes! I totally agree. I do host a public yacy instance over I2P already (search engine)
I have been experimenting with Lemmy and stoat over I2P. I did get them working but it is still a big Hassel. Also for anyone wanting to try hosting stoat. You can't use i2pd because it doesnt implement full socks which breaks some of the http headers you need with stoat.
If you can actually figure out some more shit there, document it, that would be extremely useful information, imo.
Theoretically, at least a modified version of lemmy should be constructible within I2P land... but trying to make it accessible via clearnet would... almost certainly be basically not worth it, and arguably defeat the entire point?
It is possible to use I2P as effectively an extremely complex VPN sort of thing for clearnet, via outproxies, but you then just have to trust the outproxy, basically.
I would not make it accessible on the clearnet. Kinda defaults the purpose. I rather have things be usable like normal but over I2P.
Agreed, it would make little sense to me also, to try to make an eepsite federated forum messaging protocol... thing ... also work in clearnet, just keep them apart.
I'd actually be surprised if there aren't already eep-chans, 4chan/2chan/whatevers that exist in eepland.
Interesring...