Private conversations
End-to-end encrypted with the Signal Protocol before messages leave your phone.
Learn
Privacy, explained by doing.
Short, hands-on guides. No technical background needed. Everything here is an illustration; nothing you click is saved.
GLOBAL CELL NETWORK SIMULATION
CONNECT FREELY · REVEAL SELECTIVELY
Drag to explore
Independent cells. Worldwide connections.
A vision of the network at scale: up to 140 illustrative cells. Today’s alpha runs on a small number of test cells. All locations and activity here are simulated.
This globe does not track your location.How communities work
Joined a community and wondering where to go next? Here’s the whole thing in six steps.
- Help / How It WorksTravel1Pick your communities
Choose some at sign-up, or any time from the Community tab. Everyone starts in Help / How It Works.
- TTravel CommunityWelcome to Travel!2Talk in Messages
Once you join, the community chat lives in Messages. Look for the community badge: that’s where you talk with members.
- TRules · Guidelines3Know the place
The Community tab shows each community’s profile, slogan, rules and guidelines.
- AI host4Meet the AI host
Official communities have an AI host, always labelled “AI host”. It welcomes you and replies in the chat, and never pretends to be a person.
- Verified 18+518+ is verified
Adult Community 18+ opens only after you verify you’re over 18.
- Create6Start your own
Create one from the Community tab (Create), choose who can join, and publish it to the directory.
01 · Understand the network
Encrypt. Connect. Deliver.
Your client locks the information. Independent cells carry it. Your recipient unlocks it.
INDEPENDENT CELL NETWORKProposed design · illustration
Colored paths = alternative routes Available cell
6 illustrated routes · 12 available cells. Each color shows a different path. Routes reshuffle as the simulation runs.
What cells protect—and what still needs testing
Where the alpha is today: messages are end-to-end encrypted on your device, and a small number of test cells carry them. Each account has a home cell; if a cell is offline, the sending cell holds the encrypted message and retries. Multiple alternative routes, like the colored paths above, are a planned design and not built yet.
This proposed architecture keeps decryption in the intended clients. Cells relay or retain encrypted information; they are not Midnight validators. More independent operators can add routes and capacity. Security still depends on encryption, routing, key handling, device safety, and independent review. The diagram shows a sample of possible paths, not simultaneous copies of a message, a live network, or an uptime guarantee.
Cells are not Tor relays and don’t make anyone anonymous. Separately, the alpha apps can send their own traffic through the Tor network when you turn on Hide my IP (off by default). A “Through cells” mode, a two-hop route via a second cell, is built but greyed out until a second public cell exists; it covers messages only, and Tor stays the stronger choice. Storage, retention, operator requirements, and the threat model will be specified before testing.
For cell operators
Automatic updates
Your cell keeps itself up to date, safely.
- Only genuine updates. Every update is signed with the Midnight Select release key. Your cell refuses anything unsigned, altered, or older than what it already runs.
- At a quiet moment. Updates install when your cell isn’t busy, or around 3 a.m. your time.
- Rolls back by itself. If a new version doesn’t start properly, your cell goes back to the previous one on its own. Its key, messages and settings are never touched.
- Your choice. Prefer to update by hand? Turn off Automatic updates on the Updates card in your cell’s dashboard, or set
"autoUpdate": falseincell.json.
Running a cell from before October 8, 2026? Install the latest version over it once to get automatic updates; everything is kept.
Step inside the app
Your wallet.
Your privacy choices.
Try the app concept below. Send or receive $888, choose what stays private, and watch your DUST recharge.
Available balance$2,000Digital dollars · demo funds
ATo AlexExample contact
You send$888888 digital-dollar demo units
Your walletShielded
Private path
Their walletShielded
Network fuel20 DUST demo fee
Ready when you are
DUST fuel80 / 100
Registered NIGHT generates DUST over time
Interactive app previewTap. Send.
Tap. Send.
See the difference.
The controls are inside the phone. Every choice updates the transfer and the view below.
01Choose your privacyKeep the transfer shielded, add privacy, or use a public path.
02Send or receiveTap the arrows beside Alex to change direction. Watch the value travel.
03Watch your fuelDUST drops when the fee is paid. Fast-forward to see NIGHT recharge it.
Outside the app · public observer
- Amount
- Hidden
- Addresses
- Shielded addresses hidden
A proof verifies the rules. Shielded details remain private; public outputs and metadata can still be visible.
Shielded and public paths illustrate how a planned digital dollar could be sent either way on Midnight. Dollar payments aren’t built yet; alpha wallet testing uses test tokens.
Help shape the real app App concept · simulated funds
Illustrative interface, balances, and fees. Recharge time is accelerated. Digital-dollar shielding requires supported contracts and infrastructure. DUST cannot be transferred. How DUST works ↗
02 · Understand the value
Show a payment.
Keep the rest private.
A receipt should not reveal your whole financial life. Explore how a private payment could work.
Keep finances personal
Shielded amounts and addresses stay off the public transaction trail.
Share what matters
Provide a required fact or receipt to the right party.
Check without exposing
A digital proof checks the payment without showing all the private details.
Explore a payment
Who sees what?
An illustration with a planned digital dollar on Midnight, sent shielded or unshielded. Payments aren’t available in Midnight Select yet; alpha wallet testing uses test tokens only.
Pay privately
Send $888. The recipient receives $888 in this example with a planned digital dollar on Midnight.
You send$888 888 digital-dollar units Planned · not built yet
ZK proof
Midnight verificationVerify 888 Rules verified
Shielded delivery
Recipient$888 received Controlled visibility
What the public can see
- Payment amount
- Protected
- Destination
- Protected
- Your other funds
- Protected
$888 sent$888 receivedDUST pays the Midnight fee separately.
A proof checks that the payment follows the rules. Sensitive payment details are protected from public ledger observers; intended public outputs remain visible.
Shielded or unshielded: what changes
On Midnight, a payment is sent either shielded or unshielded. A shielded payment keeps the amount and addresses off the public ledger; an unshielded one shows them. The planned dollar could be sent either way. This illustration is not a live transfer or a confirmed integration, and sponsored DUST covers only Midnight network fees.
Disclosure to a chosen recipient is different from publishing data on-chain. Public exits can reveal correlations. Wallet implementation, device safety, contract review, and network metadata still affect privacy.
What is DUST?
Your payment goes to them.
DUST covers the network fee.
Think of DUST as rechargeable fuel for a payment. It covers Midnight’s network fee separately. Here, the recipient gets $888.
Midnight Select’s NIGHTGenerates DUST over time · NIGHT stays held
Shielded DUSTFuel used for fees · regenerates up to a cap
$888 deliveredMidnight fee paid with DUST
Founding 1,000
Founding numbers 1 to 1,000 get Treasury-sponsored DUST for their everyday private transactions, up to a per-person limit.
Cell operators
People who run a linked cell get DUST sponsorship in proportion to its online time, capped per person (not per cell), up to 5 cells.
Starts once the Midnight Select Treasury is set up on Midnight’s test network; until then the app shows “Not started yet” and no sponsorship is received. Personal accounts only: businesses, organizations and institutions aren’t included. Sponsorship is capped per person, covers Midnight network fees for everyday private use only, and the Treasury’s total is limited. Exact limits are published before it starts and can change. DUST can’t be sent or traded: the Treasury points its own DUST generation at you, so it covers your fees without giving you a token. The dollar payment above is planned, not built. Alpha wallet testing uses test networks.
Curious about the technology?
A simple learning map
From moving value
to choosing what you reveal.
Bitcoin
Transfer valuePeer-to-peer money without a central issuer.
Base-layer payments and addresses are publicly traceable.Explore BitcoinEthereum
Program valueSmart contracts power programmable applications.
Mainnet is public; privacy apps and layers add other options.Explore EthereumCardano
Participate & governProof of stake, smart contracts, and on-chain governance.
Decentralized participation does not itself hide payments.Explore CardanoMidnight
Verify & reveal selectivelySmart contracts combine public state with private inputs.
ZK proofs verify rules while protecting shielded details.Explore Midnight“1.0–4.0” is an educational framing, not official versions or a universal security ranking. These ecosystems overlap and continue evolving. NIGHT is Midnight’s token; selective privacy comes from the network and application design.
Think of how the web expanded.
Reading pages → using apps → joining communities → choosing your audience. A private message and a public post serve different needs. Financial applications should offer equally deliberate visibility.
Self-custody protects access. Shielding protects disclosure. A password or hardware wallet protects keys; it does not make a public blockchain private. Midnight Select aims to bring private communication and selective transaction visibility into one app. In development.
Sources & how the layers fit together
Independent cells carry encrypted app data. Midnight verifies blockchain transactions. These are separate layers; cells are not Midnight validators.
Midnight: shielded tokens & conversion · DUST fees & generation · DUST sponsorship · Selective disclosure · Midnight: USDM mainnet activity · Moneta: USDM is unshielded
One-minute privacy check
Small choices.
Better boundaries.
Try three everyday questions. No signup needed.
Question 1 of 3
Someone new wants to connect. What do you need to share?
A small gift for you
Your vibe.
Your boundaries.
Make a connection card. Keep it or share it as a little reminder of what matters to you.
No name, email, or personal details needed. Created in your browser.
MY CONNECTION CARDMIDNIGHT SELECT · Connect on your terms.
Good connections start small.
A name. A conversation. More when I’m ready.