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Morpheus — Philosophy
"Everyone knows your name. Nobody reads your messages."
The Core Distinction
Morpheus is private, not anonymous.
You have a real identity on Morpheus — a profile, a reputation, followers, a history. People know you. That's the point of a social network.
But your direct messages are encrypted end-to-end with NIP-44. Not because we choose not to read them — because we architecturally cannot. The encryption happens on your device, between you and the recipient. We never hold the keys.
This is not a political statement. It's an engineering decision.
| What we CAN provide if legally required | What we CANNOT provide, ever |
|---|---|
| Public posts (they're public by design) | Content of encrypted DMs |
| Account metadata (creation date, public key) | Private encryption keys |
| Relay connection logs (IP, timestamp) | Decrypted message content |
| Public social graph (who follows whom publicly) | Messages that were never stored on our relays |
We comply with the law. We also build systems where the most sensitive data simply does not exist in a form we can access. These two things are not in conflict.
Why Morpheus Exists
Social networks in Russia are under pressure. Services get blocked, APIs get restricted, content gets moderated by external mandate. Young people deserve a social space that is:
- Fast — because they're used to the best apps in the world
- Beautiful — because aesthetics matter to this generation
- Honest about privacy — not "trust us" but "verify: here's the code"
- Resilient — if something changes politically, your messages are still yours
Design Principles
1. Speed is respect
Every millisecond of loading time says "we don't value your time." Morpheus must feel instant — faster than Telegram, smoother than Instagram. 60fps or nothing. If the user can perceive a delay, it's a bug.
2. Privacy through architecture, not policy
Don't say "we won't read your messages." Say "we can't." NIP-44 encryption means DM content is ciphertext on our relays. We don't make a privacy promise — we make a mathematical guarantee. Public posts are public. Private messages are private. No ambiguity.
3. Not anonymous, not surveilled — just private
Users have identities. They build reputations. They're accountable for public behavior. But their private conversations are theirs. This is the same expectation people have with postal mail, phone calls, and in-person conversations. Morpheus simply extends this expectation to digital communication.
4. Simplicity is power
Every feature must justify its existence. If a teenager can't figure it out in 3 seconds, it's too complex. No settings pages. No toggles. The app should feel like it reads your mind, not like it needs a manual.
5. We are a business, not a movement
Morpheus is a company that makes a product. We charge for premium features. We are not funded by ads, not funded by data sales, not funded by ideology. Our incentive is simple: make a product so good that people pay for it. When incentives are clear, trust follows.
6. Compliant and principled
We operate within the law. We register where required. We respond to lawful requests. AND we build systems where encrypted content cannot be decrypted by us. These are not contradictions — this is responsible engineering. We will never install backdoors, key escrow, or ghost protocols. If we cannot technically comply with a specific request, we say so transparently.
7. Open by default
The client is open source. The protocol (Nostr) is open. Users can verify every privacy claim by reading the code. If you don't trust us, don't take our word — audit us.
What Morpheus Is
- A fast, beautiful social network for young Russian-speaking people
- Built on Nostr protocol for real encryption and portability
- A business that makes money from premium features, not from users' data
- Compliant with applicable law while protecting what encryption protects
- An app your friend tells you about because it's good, not because it's political
What Morpheus Is NOT
- Not anonymous — you have a real, persistent identity
- Not a protest tool — it's for memes, group chats, dating, music, friends
- Not a crypto/Web3 project — Nostr uses keys, but there are no tokens or blockchain
- Not anti-government — we comply with law; we also use strong encryption
- Not a dark web app — the aesthetic is bright, modern, and mainstream
The Privacy Spectrum
Fully surveilled Morpheus position Fully anonymous
|__________________________|___________________________|
VK, OK "Private, not anonymous" Tor, I2P
- Real identities
- E2E encrypted DMs
- Public posts are public
- Compliant operations
- No backdoors
Morpheus occupies the practical middle ground: the same privacy you'd expect in real life, applied to digital communication. Nothing more extreme. Nothing less.
The Morpheus Promise
We will:
- Encrypt all DMs with NIP-44 — always, by default, no opt-in needed
- Publish our source code
- Comply with lawful requests using data we actually have
- Be transparent about what data exists and what doesn't
- Never add backdoors or weaken encryption
- Never sell user data or run behavioral advertising
- Build a sustainable business on premium features
We will be honest when we cannot do something, rather than pretend we can.