DSNP

• Name: DSNP (Decentralized Social Networking Protocol)
• URL: https://dsnp.org/
• Category: decentralized social-networking protocol / shared social-graph specification / delegated publishing and portable-identity middleware
• Summary: DSNP is a social-data protocol note, not a social app note. The useful split is between identifiers and control keys, announcement streams for publishable content, user-data state for graph and profile material, and explicit delegation so apps can act for users without owning the identity outright. That is the real reason to keep it: it makes the social control surface legible.
• What it does:
  • Defines a shared protocol for identifier lifecycle, delegation and revocation, announcement publication, and user-data reads and writes
  • Separates publishable content from durable identity-linked state instead of flattening everything into one app database model
  • Supports public follows, encrypted private follows, encrypted private connections, and PRId-based validation of bilateral private relationships
  • Uses pseudonymous DSNP User Ids plus control keys rather than tying the protocol directly to one wallet or app account model
  • Currently points to Frequency as the main live system implementation
• Key claims:
  • The spec presents DSNP as a publicly observable social-state machine rather than an app-owned feed format
  • Its main reusable mechanism is the split between Announcements and User Data, with delegation layered on top
  • The privacy model is more specific than generic private social graph talk because it distinguishes private follows, private connections, and PRId proofs
  • Portability only matters if identifier custody, delegation scope, key rotation, and replacement semantics remain legible across implementations
  • The big caveat is concentration: the standard story is still heavily tied to Frequency as the practical system beneath it
• Whitepaper: Yes. The official Project Liberty whitepaper is saved as ../../whitepapers/dsnp-whitepaper.pdf, and this pass also used the live overview and specification materials collected in ../../whitepapers/dsnp-primary-sources-2026-05-15.md.
• Sources:
  • https://dsnp.org/
  • https://dsnp.org/about/overview.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/DSNP/Overview.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/DSNP/Identity.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/DSNP/Graph.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/DSNP/UserData.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/DSNP/Announcements.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/Systems.html
  • https://spec.dsnp.org/Frequency/Overview.html
  • https://github.com/LibertyDSNP/spec
  • https://github.com/LibertyDSNP/papers
  • https://dsnp.org/dsnp_whitepaper.pdf

Internal linkages

• Closest implementation and comparison reads: frequency, lens-protocol, and farcaster.

Control surface

• The leverage sits in identifier custody, delegation scope, graph-data replacement rules, encryption-key rotation, and which chain implementation actually carries the state machine.

• That is why DSNP is worth keeping as a protocol note instead of burying it under any single social app or chain brand.

• Last reviewed: 2026-06-14 UTC