How the Cloudillo Collaboration Platform Works — part 1.

Network of Trust

As a software engineer for over 20 years, I have followed the changes in cloud services. The technology always fascinated me, but I have had my doubts about its direction. In my previous articles, I discussed these problems in detail. In this technical article, I will start to explain the design decisions behind Cloudillo.

I have thought a lot about these issues for many years. One thing has been clear to me: we must tackle the most serious problems together to create a solution that can change people’s behavior.

Eliminating Central Control

The most important goal is to remove central control. A new solution must be free from not just big tech companies, but also from any organizational control. As an open-source enthusiast, I believe that being open-source is essential for success. However, being open-source alone is not enough. The platform must allow its instances to connect and communicate globally, which requires a robust global identity and authentication system.

After careful consideration, I decided to build a global identity system based on the Domain Name System (DNS). While it is not perfect — since there are governing organizations behind it — it is still far more trustworthy than the big tech companies that control the internet today. Moreover, the DNS system is essential part of the Internet’s infrastructure, making it a stable and secure foundation for a new service.

Network of Profiles

This DNS-based global identity system allows access to public profiles for all users across the network. Each profile contains a public key, which is used every time a user performs an action — whether it’s publishing, following, or liking a content. These actions are represented by action tokens, which are cryptographically signed with the user’s public key. As these tokens travel across the network from user to user, the system can verify their origin, even if the issuer is unknown to the receiver.

Action tokens are powerful tools. They have a flexible structure that can represent various actions. For instance, when a user wants to connect with someone, they send an action token to that user. Posting content or following someone also involves issuing and sending tokens. Since each token is signed, the platform only delivers it if there is a connection between the involved users. The only exceptions are technical actions like contact requests and follow requests. This system significantly reduces unwanted content, spam and ads.

Community Profiles

Alongside user profiles, Cloudillo also supports community profiles, which function similarly but allow groups to gather members and share content. Community profiles attach approval tokens to action tokens signed by their own key, allowing the exchange of tokens between users who are not directly connected.

Like user profiles, community profiles also have a sovereign identity. They can be moved between storage providers and be transferred between users, offering flexibility and independence.

Moderation and Censorship

Cloudillo’s direct profile-to-profile communication eliminates the need for central authority, removing system-level moderation and censorship. However, communities function as data hubs, relaying information between their members. Communities can establish their own rules and moderate communication within their group as needed.

Other benefits

The DNS-based identity system offers other practical advantages. If a user, company, or organization already owns a domain name, they can use it as their Cloudillo identity. This helps build trust — encountering a domain-based identity means you can be confident that it is linked to the domain’s owner.

While this identity system is a cornerstone of Cloudillo’s architecture, it’s only one of several key components. In the next article, we’ll explore more technical concepts behind the platform.