Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> That’s the main use case for p2p in an application isn’t it? Reducing the vendors bandwidth bill…

The equivalent would be to say that running local workloads or compute is to reduce the vendors bill. It’s a very centralized view of the internet.

There are many reasons to do p2p. Such as improving bandwidth and latency, circumventing censorship, improve resilience and more. WebRTC is a good example of p2p used by small and large companies alike. None of this is any more ”without permission” than a standard app phoning home and tracking your fingerprint and IP.




Oh, funny you should pick WebRTC. Back when I was still using Chrome, it prevented my desktop from sleeping because 'WebRTC has active peer connections'. With no indication on which page that is happening.

Great respect for the user's resources.


Haha yeah I personally hate WebRTC. It’s a mess and I’ve literally rewritten the parts of it I need in order to avoid it. (Check my profile)

I just brought it up as a technology that at the very least is both legitimate and common.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2025 batch! Applications are open till May 13

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: