Skip to content

How Peer-to-Peer Apps Stay Free Forever (Holepunch Interview)

January 31, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

Show notes

Peer-to-peer networks have no servers—just devices talking directly to each other. Henry interviewed Mathias Buus Madsen, CEO of Holepunch, about how BitTorrent handled 40 million users without servers, why their messenger Keet can't go down even when usage spikes, their new P2P password manager, and how P2P apps are more energy efficient than data centers.

🔗 SOURCES & LINKS
• Holepunch: https://holepunch.to/
• Keet Messenger: https://keet.io
• Pears: https://pears.com
• Pear Pass: https://pass.pears.com

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 INTRO
00:01:25 WHAT IS PEER-TO-PEER (P2P)?
00:03:16 BENEFITS OF P2P
00:05:38 GETTING STARTED IN P2P
00:08:43 NEGATIVE P2P ASSOCIATIONS
00:14:13 P2P CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE
00:17:14 P2P SAFETY
00:21:29 KEET (P2P MESSENGER)
00:26:21 OPEN SOURCE?
00:27:12 BEING SERVERLESS
00:31:04 OPEN SOURCE VS. CLOSED SOURCE
00:34:05 ARE UPDATES P2P?
00:34:33 IS THERE AN APK?
00:35:37 BACKGROUND SYNC
00:39:27 WHAT ELSE DOES HOLEPUNCH WORK ON?
00:42:04 MORE INFO ON THE STACK
00:45:00 FUNDING + TETHER
00:48:09 P2P PASSWORD MANAGER?
00:54:48 AUDITS
00:55:57 AVAILABLE ON LINUX?
00:58:33 CENTRALIZED/HYBRID P2P?
01:01:49 P2P DOWNSIDES?
01:05:01 APPLE FINDMY NETWORK
01:07:16 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
01:11:48 SERVICE DOWNTIME
01:12:52 HOW TO FOLLOW
01:13:59 OUTRO

🎥 VIDEO
Watch on YouTube

🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE
Keep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

All episodes of Techlore Talks

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.