From leaking firearm permits to manipulating voters, consumer data is being used to push the agenda of businesses, politicians, and selfish institutions. And although there is no shortage of resources and companies that seek to mitigate the repercussions of our third-party-owned consumer data, some would argue that this is a bandaid, covering up the fundamental flaw of how the internet currently operates: Data is not owned by the user; it is owned by those who pay to own it.

Introducing Sonr

This New York-based company is on a quest to meet the ever-growing calls for overhauling the way the internet operates and is putting the user's data back in their own hands. Until now, while the aim of a next-generation net has existed, it has been impossible to fulfill. That's where Sonr is stepping up to the plate, using a high-speed peer-to-peer network and a Cosmos-powered blockchain along with built-in decentralized identity and first-rate supporting tools for developers to make a truly user-owned, free and secure network.

The idea of a user-owned Internet isn't new. Tim Berners-Lee - widely considered the inventora of the internet in the late 1980s - has said he objects to the current web situation in which centralized computers owned by third parties are the owners of individual users' information. For years, Berners-Lee has advocated for a less-centralized internet that returns private data into the hands of the users where it belongs.

What's drawn people to Sonr is that the company is hitting the market at the right time. The technology to create a user-owned Internet, such as crypto and decentralized finance, is finally available.

This was not founder Prad Nukala's plan in November 2020. He simply wanted to send a video to friends on a group chat but was out of cloud storage. Desperate times calling for desperate measures, he found an old flash drive, which he used to transfer the file to another device.

As he finally sent the file, he thought about how this would be easier if services like AirDrop were not confined to certain networks or devices. He spent most of 2021 playing around with how to create that sort of universal option.

Unlocking 'True Digital Ownership'

Nukala slowly came to the realization that what he wanted to do was not simply revise a small part of the existing system but step outside the box and rethink the entire infrastructure. In an era of disinformation and commodification of users, Nukala recognized what was needed were not minor tweaks but instead foundational changes.

The result is Sonr, a company with the not-at-all small mission "to unlock true digital ownership." Their focus on user-owned data and decentralized identity has already attracted over $5 million in early venture capital funding. 

As Nukala expanded his vision, the project became too large for one person. His first hire was Michael Amoako, a MIT grad who was admitted to Harvard's deferred MBA program. He left Microsoft's Responsible AI program after Nukala made his pitch.

"Prad's vision of a user-owned internet struck me as an opportunity to finally enact Tim Berner Lee's original goals around the internet," Amoako said. "I was sold by his unwavering commitment to build something new and challenge the status quo. He refused to stop where many others in his shoes would have, to build something revolutionary, and I wanted to join him in that noble mission."

Minting An NFT In Space

In early 2022, Ben Linville stopped by Nukala's house with a request: Would Nukala put up the $3,000 for Sonr to sponsor the launch of a weather balloon and mint the first NFT in space?

Linville was part of a team of engineers at Hackerhouse in Miami, and much like Sonr, saw through the hype of Web3 and was dissatisfied by how it was living far beneath its potential to create a user-owned internet experience. 

With a shared mission, both teams came together to show how NFTs can go beyond profile-pictures and expensive digital art. 

Backed by the infant company, the team successfully launched that weather balloon up 19 miles and minted the world's first NFT in space.

With that shared vision and accomplished mission, it was impossible for them not to join forces. Nukala spoke with Hackerhouse about his vision for a web infrastructure where individuals have custody of their own ID and assets. One by one, the entire engineering team migrated over to Sonr.

Moreover, a system that distributes incentives to users rather than using them as the product is gaining increased interest among the general public. As the average user better understands how the current web works, many want the ability to control their own data and information.

Sonr has started to detail some of their early test projects, including how to authenticate every Twitter user, on their website. They plan to have sign-ups available in the coming months.

​​Sonr is focusing on three key elements for the future of the net; securing digital identities by giving people complete control over their personal idea, providing a user-owned internet that relies on the most advanced security technology to encrypt data, and giving developers the opportunity to easily build decentralized web applications.

And, of course, the ability to freely transfer data without having to see if you kept a flash drive.

"Sonr's theme is freedom and self ownership," Linville said. "We're planting flag beside the river of truth."