In August, Layer-1 blockchain Ice Open Network (ION) will deploy Online+ social media app, the initial DApp designed with ION Framework, to implement the easiness of Web2 to Web3.
The big tech-owned mainstream social platforms have swiftly become digital walled gardens. They gather information without permission, algorithmically define speech and trap creators in ecosystems where they are required to monetize via black-box rules and intermediaries. They cannot really control what they see and how their identities are controlled all the time their personal information is used to feed the ad-supported business models they never consented to.
Blockchain alternatives will bring the promise of liberation out of the Web2 strangleholds, but they are typically lacking in terms of usability. Set up wallets, seed phrases management, and technical jargon all are essential steps to take to get onboard, and put off mainstream users. The user interfaces are quite complicated, and unfamiliar which further increases the learning curves.
There is little that gives the user privacy, ownership and seamless experiences all at once.
A multipurpose social application
These issues are addressed by Layer-1 blockchain Ice Open Network (ION) with a series of blockchain-based decentralized applications followed by its modular, open-source infrastructure stack called ION Framework, which enables easy creation of user-friendly decentralized applications. Its initial reference app Online+ is designed to be decentralized, but user-friendly to allow anyone to use it.
The company is aiming to roll out Online+ worldwide in August, copying the design of more popular social media, including the ability to create posts, stories, videos and long-form articles. The contrast is that everything is onchain and the users own it, but are not subject to any form of censorship.
Online+ goes one step further by removing complexity so that users do not have to struggle with an understanding of crypto at the outset. The wallets are auto-generated and the user can log in by using simplified and no-password-based login techniques. This design makes the ownership with blockchain to be visible, yet non-existent.
Online+ has a chat built in. Messages are end to end encrypted, and no one is able to intercept or save the conversation. There are also no intermediaries and, therefore, monetization is direct, too. Created by the native coin Ice Open Network (ION), users and creators can share tips, gain access to premium content and even create tokenized communities without paying commission.
Much in the same way as minimal monetization, feeds that are algorithmically driven, prioritizing engagement over relevance is another significant problem of Web2 platforms. Online+ will enable the user to create his or her own content without being spammed or manipulated.
Online+ is not just one app, and it is an entry point to a larger environment. The platform allows users to interact and navigate DApps through the platform. Over 100 Web3 projects are already getting ready to launch community hubs on the Online+ and over 3,000 creators with a reach of over 500 million are being onboarded to the platform during the early access phase.
No-code DApp builder in the making
Online+ is developed all the way with the ION Framework, a modular, open source infrastructure stack to make Web3 practical to the real world. The framework has four main modules namely: ION Identity (self-sovereign digital ID), ION Vault (encrypted storage), ION Connect (communication protocols) and ION Liberty (content delivery).
Collectively, they enable developers to create fully decentralized applications that can pass UX standards in the current day. The next Online+ is the very first reference app, which is made on the basis of the ION Framework.
Such a system has the Ice Open Network as the backbone, which is a horizontally scalable layer-1 blockchain that can handle millions of transactions per second. Since the launch, ION has attracted more than 40 million community members and had more than 200 validators come online.
Once Online+ has been launched, ION will get to work on releasing a no-code DApp builder before the year is over. The tool is also supposed to democratize development allowing creators, entrepreneurs and communities to design their own decentralized platforms via a drag-and-drop interface. The ambition is to have Web3 applications as easy to create as a website.
People-centered internet, not platform centric internet
ION builds a digital future where sovereignty, privacy and interoperability are baked in at the table, and the decentralized technology is underneath the hood of superb experiences.
Online+ is one step closer to this vision as explained by the founder and CEO of ION, Alexandru Iulian Florea:
“The next billion users won’t care about Web3 — they’ll care about ownership, privacy and better digital tools. That’s what Online+ delivers. It’s a gateway to the new internet, and ION is its blueprint, offering the infrastructure and values needed to rebuild online life around people, not platforms.”
ION isn’t just building tools for crypto insiders — it’s building infrastructure for the internet’s next chapter. Online+ is the first glimpse of what that future might feel like: simple, secure and owned by its users from day one. By the following year, the ION Framework and the upcoming no-code DApp builder will empower users to create DApps with the same usability and ownership principles, powering the entire ecosystem.
