The Hakon Isn't a Nostr App. It Uses the Network.

One question we often get is: "Is The Hakon a Nostr app?" The short answer is no.

The Hakon is a blogging platform where articles are published as regular web pages, accessible through any browser and discoverable through Google and other search engines. Anyone can read your content without creating an account, installing an app, or knowing what Nostr is.

Nostr is the distribution network behind The Hakon. When you publish an article, it's also distributed across Nostr as a cryptographically signed event, making it available to compatible Nostr apps.

How Nostr Distribution Works

Nostr relies on independent servers called relays to receive and store signed events. Compatible Nostr apps connect to these relays to retrieve and display your articles, depending on which relays they use and which content formats they support.

Unlike centralized platforms, Nostr doesn't depend on a single company or server. Your content can be distributed across multiple relays, reducing reliance on any one provider. However, its continued availability on Nostr depends on those relays retaining it.

The Hakon combines the reach of the open web with Nostr's decentralized distribution. Your articles can be discovered through search engines, shared through regular links, and accessed through compatible Nostr apps.

About Security: How We Handle Your NSEC

Publishing on Nostr requires a cryptographic signature that proves an article was authorized by its author. This signature is generated using your private key, commonly represented as an NSEC.

The Hakon does not store your NSEC on its servers or send it to Nostr relays. Your private key remains in your browser.

Here's how it works:

1. Your NSEC stays in your browser. When you enter your private key, it is handled locally rather than being submitted to our servers.

2. Your articles are signed locally. When you publish, your browser uses your private key to generate a cryptographic signature.

3. Only the signed event is transmitted. The published event contains your article, public key, signature, and other Nostr metadata, but never your NSEC.

4. Relays distribute your content. Nostr relays receive the signed event and make it available to compatible applications without needing access to your private key.

Verify It Yourself

You don't have to take our word for it. You can inspect the process directly:

1. Generate a new NSEC on The Hakon specifically for testing.

2. Remove it from your browser.

3. Open your browser's developer tools (F12) and select the Network tab.

4. Paste the test NSEC back in, publish a test article, and inspect the outgoing requests and WebSocket messages.

You can check that your private key isn't included in the transmitted data. Only the signed event should be sent to the network.

Keep in mind that the Network tab verifies network transmissions, not everything a website's JavaScript might do with a key. It also cannot guarantee how future versions of a website will behave.

A Note on Private Key Security

Your NSEC grants control over your Nostr identity. Anyone who obtains it can potentially publish content or perform other actions as you.

Even when signing happens locally, entering a private key into a website carries risks, including malicious scripts, compromised browser extensions, or vulnerabilities in the website itself.

For additional security, we recommend using a dedicated Nostr key for publishing rather than your primary identity.

Our approach is simple: your private key is used to sign your content, not to identify you to our servers. We explain the process so you can understand and independently inspect how it works.