International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN:2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 02 | Feb 2025 www.irjet.net p-ISSN:2395-0072
A Decentralized Alternative for Secure Social Media
Dr. Kiran V1 , Syeda
Shaima
Azmi2 , Rahul Roy3 , Akshat A Gada4
1Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering, R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India,
2Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering, R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India,
3Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering, R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India,
4Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering, R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India
Abstract A decentralized microblogging platform utilizes blockchain and cryptographic techniques for secure and censorship-resistant multimedia content distribution. Traditional social media platforms are centralized, leading to issues such as censorship, data breaches, and content manipulation. This plat- form overcomes these limitations using Ethereum-based smart contracts, InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for distributed con- tent storage, and cryptographic mechanisms for data integrity. This paper presents the system architecture, implementation details, and the key technologies used, including Solidity for smart contracts, React for the frontend, Ethers.js for blockchain interaction, Hardhat for development, and IPFS for decentralized storage. Additionally, we discuss the security, scalability,andpotentialfutureimprovementsoftheplatform.
Index Terms Decentralized Applications, Blockchain, SmartContracts,IPFS,Ethereum,Security,SocialMedia
I. INTRODUCTION
Social media plays a crucial role in communication, but its reliance on centralized entities leads to challenges such as data privacy violations, censorship, and the risk of single points of failure. Companies control user data, often monetizing per- sonal information and restricting content basedoncorporatepoliciesorgovernmentregulations.
Decentralized applications (dApps) present a solution by distributing data across a blockchain network, eliminating reliance on a single authority. It is a blockchain-based microblogging platform that allows users to post, share, and engage with multimedia content without censorship. By lever- aging Ethereum smart contracts and IPFS, DecentraTwitterensuressecure, transparent, andimmutable socialinteractions.
II. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
It’sarchitectureconsistsofthreeprimarycomponents:
• Blockchain and Smart Contracts for secure and immutabletransactionhandling.
• Decentralized Storage (IPFS) for storing multimedia content.
• Frontend and User Interface built with React and JavaScriptframeworks.
A. Blockchain and Smart Contracts
Ethereum smart contracts serve as the core of this, governinginteractionssuchaspostingcontent,likingtweets,and tipping creators. Solidity is used to define these contract rules,ensuringdecentralizedcontrol.
Keysmartcontractfunctions:
• postTweet()–StorestweetmetadataandIPFShash.
• likeTweet()– Records likes on-chain for transparency.
• tipCreator()–Allows users to tip content creatorsin cryptocurrency.
Mathematically,atransactionfollows: H(tx)=hash(S, R, D, T )
where:
• S =Sender’saddress
• R = Receiver’s address
• D =Digitalasset(tweetmetadata)
• T = Timestamp
B. Decentralized Storage with IPFS
Sinceblockchainstorageiscostly,ituses InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for storing multimedia content. IPFS provides a peer-to-peer file-sharing mechanism where contentisreferencedviacryptographichashes.
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN:2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 02 | Feb 2025 www.irjet.net p-ISSN:2395-0072
TheIPFSstoragefunction canbe expressedas:
H(C) = CID(C)
where CID (Content Identifier) uniquelyreferencesafile. UsersretrievecontentusingitsCID,ensuringdataremains accessibleandverifiable.
C. Frontend and User Interaction
The frontend is built using React.js, providing an intuitive user experience. The web application interacts with Ethereum via Ethers.js, enabling seamless communicationwithsmartcontracts.
User authentication is decentralized, relying on Ethereum wallets (e.g., MetaMask) instead of centralizedlogincreden-tials.
III. KEY TECHNOLOGIES USED
A. Ethereum and Solidity
Ethereum is used for executing smart contracts that store tweets and handle transactions. Solidity is the programming language for writing these contracts. It enablesdecentralizedapplications (dApps) to function by embedding the logic for transaction handling, content verification, and user interaction. Smart contracts are deployed on Ethereum’s blockchain to guarantee transparency, immutability, and the prevention of unauthorized access. Ethereum’s decentralized nature ensures that the platform is not controlled by any single entity,promotinguserautonomy.
B. Hardhat Development Framework
Hardhat is used for developing, testing, and deployingit’ssmartcontracts.Itprovideslocalblockchain simulation, debugging tools, and script automation for deployment. Hard- hat also integrates seamlessly with Ethereum’s network and is commonly used for developingscalable,production-readyapplications.
Using Hardhat, developers can simulate real-world blockchain scenarios locally before deploying the application on a live Ethereum network. This reduces development costs and allows developers to identify issuesearlyintheprocess.
C. IPFS for Content Storage
IPFS enables decentralized content storage by distributingdataacrossmultiplenodesinsteadofacentral
server. IPFS works by creating a global distributed file system, where users can store and retrieve content withoutrelyingonanycentralauthority.
It uses IPFS for content storage, with multimedia content (such as images and videos) being stored offchain. The blockchain only stores the hash of the content, ensuring that the content remains verifiable withoutoverburdeningtheblockchainwithlargefilesizes.
D. Ethers.js for Blockchain Interaction
Ethers.js is a JavaScript library that simplifies interaction with Ethereum smart contracts, handling transactions and wal- let connections. Ethers.js provides easy access to Ethereum’s decentralized network, allowingto integrate user interaction with smart contracts in real- time.
By utilizing Ethers.js, users can securely sign transactionsusing their Ethereum wallet (e.g., MetaMask), which ensures privacy and security without relying on centralizedservers.
E. Decentralized Authentication
It employs decentralized authentication mechanisms, al-lowing users to sign in using their Ethereum wallets. This method eliminates the need for centralized identity providers, giving users complete control over their identityandpersonalinformation.
Withdecentralizedauthentication,usersinteractdirectly with the blockchain to verify their identity and gain accesstotheplatform’sfeatures,suchaspostingtweetsor tipping creators. This enhances both privacy and security, as users’ personal data is not stored in centralized databases.
IV. SECURITY AND SCALABILITY CONSIDERATIONS
A.
Security Mechanisms
• Cryptographic Hashing: Ensures data integrity by ver-ifyingtweetcontentusingSHA-256hashes.
• Smart Contract Auditing:Regularcontractauditsare essentialtopreventvulnerabilitiessuchasreentrancy attacksandoverflowbugs.
• Decentralized Identity (DID): Users sign transactions with their wallets, preventing unauthorizedaccess.
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN:2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 02 | Feb 2025 www.irjet.net p-ISSN:2395-0072
B. Scalability Solutions
• Layer-2 Scaling (Polygon, Arbitrum): Reduces gas feesbyhandlingtransactionsoff-chain.
• Content Offloading to IPFS: Decreases blockchain stor-agerequirementsbykeepingonlycontenthashes on-chain.
• Batch Processing for Transactions: Groups multiple transactionstooptimizeblockchainthroughput.
V. FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Severalenhancementscanbemadetoimprove:
• Integration with Layer-2 solutions: To minimize Ethereumgasfees.
• Enhanced privacy features: Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) foranonymousinteractions.
• Decentralized Governance: Implementing DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) toallowthe communitytovoteonprotocolchanges.
• Interoperability with other blockchains:Expanding support beyond Ethereum to networks like Solana or Avalanche.
VI. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Ourevaluationfocusesonfourkey performancemetrics:
• MeanTransactionCostand Latency
• ContentRetrievalPerformance
• UserInteractionThroughput
• Security and Scalability
A. Smart Contract Performance
We evaluated the core smart contract functions postTweet(), likeTweet(), and tipCreator() tomeasure their average gas consumption and transaction latency. ThesefunctionsweretestedonanEthereumtestnetwork using Hardhat for local simulation. The results are summarizedinTableI.
TABLEI SMART CONTRACT FUNCTION PERFORMANCE
Function Average Gas Consumption Average Latency (s) Comments postTweet() 75,000 12 Optimized for IPFS hash likeTweet() 45,000 8 Minimal overhead tipCreator() 90,000 15 Higher cost
Key Observations:
• ThepostTweet()functionshowsabalancedgascost suitableforfrequentposting.
• likeTweet()maintains a low overhead, supporting rapidinteractions.
• tipCreator()incursahighercostbutremainswithin acceptablelimitsforinfrequentfinancialtransactions.
B. Content Storage and Retrieval Performance
Using IPFS for decentralized multimedia storage, we mea- sured the retrieval performance for typical content. Table II presents the average retrieval time, success rate, andfilesizecharacteristics.
C
II ONTENT RETRIEVAL
Metric Value Comments
Key Observations:
• TheretrievaltimesfromIPFSarelowenoughto supportreal-timecontentaccess.
• A 98% success rate demonstrates the robustness of theIPFSnetworkincontentdelivery.
C. User Interaction and Throughput Analysis
A simulation of social media activity over a 24-hour periodprovidedinsightsintotheplatform’sscalabilityand through- put. Table ?? summarizes key user interaction metrics.
Key Observations:
• Theplatformefficientlyhandlesahighvolumeof
Average Retrieval Time 2.3 seconds Efficient Retrieval Success Rate 98% High reliability Average File Size 1 2 MB Average(images/videos) trans-actions,ensuringaresponsiveuserexperience.
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN:2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 02 | Feb 2025 www.irjet.net p-ISSN:2395-0072
• Underpeakloads,throughputincreasesto15 transactionsperminutewithoutsignificant performancedegradation.
• Asystemuptimeof99.5%validatesthereliabilityofthe decentralizedarchitecture.
D. Security and Scalability Evaluation
Security Analysis:
• Smart Contract Audits: Automated vulnerability scannersandmanualreviewsrevealednocriticalvulnerabilities.Minorissueswereaddressedpromptly,reinforcing theintegrityofthesmartcontracts.
• Decentralized Authentication: Authentication via Ethereum wallets (e.g., MetaMask) eliminates centralizedidentityrisks.
Scalability Considerations:
• Layer-2 Solutions: Integration with solutions such asPolygonorArbitrumwassimulatedtoreducegas feesandimprovetransactionthroughput.
• Content Offloading: Bystoringonlycontenthashes on the blockchain and offloading actual multimedia toIPFS,thesystemminimizeson-chaindata,further enhancingscalability.
• Batch Processing: Simulated batch processing of transactions shows promising improvements in overallthroughputduringhigh-loadscenarios.
E Summary
Performance:
• The smart contract functions demonstrate efficient gasusageandacceptablelatency.
• IPFS-based content retrieval delivers fast and reliable accesstomultimediacontent.
Scalability:
• The system sustains high user interaction levels, with throughputremainingstableevenunderpeak conditions.
• Future integration of Layer-2 solutions is expected to furtherenhanceperformance.
• Data Integrity: Cryptographic hashing (SHA-256) and decentralized identity mechanisms ensure that contentanduserdataremaintamper-proof.
Security:
• Comprehensive audits and the use of cryptographic tech- niques ensure that it is robust against common securitythreats.
ThecombinationofEthereumsmartcontracts,IPFS,and modern web technologies delivers a secure, scalable, and censorship-resistant platform, positioning it as a strong alter-nativetotraditionalcentralizedsocialmedia.
VII. CONCLUSION
It demonstrates the potential of decentralized social media by leveraging blockchain and cryptographic techniques. Unlike traditional social platforms, it ensures userautonomy,censor-shipresistance,andsecurecontent distribution. By utilizing Ethereum smart contracts, IPFS storage, and decentralized authentication, it provides a scalableandtransparentsolutionforsocialinteractions.
The platform ensures that users retain ownership of their data while interacting in a secure, transparent, and censorship- resistant environment. Future developments will focus on enhancing scalability, improving privacy, and expanding gov- ernance mechanisms to create a fully decentralized social media ecosystem. As the blockchain ecosystem evolves, It aims to be at the forefront of revolutionizing social media by empowering individuals withthetoolsforgreaterautonomy,security,andprivacy.
VIII. REFERENCES
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Volume: 12 Issue: 02 | Feb 2025 www.irjet.net p-ISSN:2395-0072
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