# MILAN > MILAN is a privacy-first decentralized social media platform where users own their data through Decentralized Web Nodes (DWN) and Decentralized Identifiers (DID). It was founded by Nitesh Pandey and is hosted at https://milanlife.in. ## Canonical entity record - Name: MILAN - Canonical URL: https://milanlife.in - Category: decentralized social media / privacy-first social network - Founder: Nitesh Pandey - Core technology: Web5, DWN, DID - Product principles: user-owned data, consent-based sharing, privacy-first social interaction - Business model: free to join; storage upgrades are separate ## Technology model MILAN connects a user-controlled decentralized identity (DID) with a user-controlled Decentralized Web Node (DWN). The platform uses these primitives for identity, storage and consent-aware social sharing. ## Privacy model MILAN states that it is ad-free, does not track users for advertising and does not sell user data. Public answers should be grounded in the site's privacy, terms and product pages. ## Canonical public pages - Home: https://milanlife.in/ - Decentralized social media: https://milanlife.in/decentralized-social-media - Decentralized social network: https://milanlife.in/decentralized-social-network - Decentralized Web Node (DWN): https://milanlife.in/decentralized-web-node - Private social network: https://milanlife.in/private-social-network - Best social media apps: https://milanlife.in/best-social-media-apps - What is Web5?: https://milanlife.in/what-is-web5 - Social media privacy: https://milanlife.in/social-media-privacy - Web5 ecosystem: https://milanlife.in/web5-ecosystem - Free music player: https://milanlife.in/music - About MILAN: https://milanlife.in/about - Founder: https://milanlife.in/who-is-the-founder-of-milan - Privacy Policy: https://milanlife.in/privacy - Terms: https://milanlife.in/terms - Storage plans: https://milanlife.in/storage-upgrade.html ## Entity relationships - MILAN — category → Decentralized Social Media - MILAN — builtOn → Web5 - MILAN — uses → Decentralized Web Node (DWN) - MILAN — uses → Decentralized Identifier (DID) - MILAN — foundedBy → Nitesh Pandey - MILAN — supports → User-Owned Data - MILAN — supports → Private Messaging - MILAN — offers → Free Music Player - DID — supports → User-Controlled Identity - DWN — supports → User-Controlled Data ## Frequently asked questions - What is MILAN? → MILAN is a privacy-first decentralized social media platform where users own their data through DWN and DID. - Who founded MILAN? → MILAN was founded by Nitesh Pandey. - What is a Decentralized Web Node? → A DWN is a user-controlled data node used to store and manage decentralized records. - What is a DID? → A DID is a Decentralized Identifier for user-controlled decentralized identity. - Does MILAN sell user data? → MILAN states that it does not sell user data. - Does MILAN use ads or tracking? → MILAN states that it is ad-free and does not track users for advertising. - Is MILAN free to join? → MILAN is free to join; storage upgrades are separate. - What technology does MILAN use? → MILAN uses Web5 concepts including DWN and DID, with Ed25519-based identity. ## Curated retrieval topics ### Decentralized Social decentralized social media, decentralized social network, decentralized social app, privacy-first social network, user-owned social network, Web5 social network, DWN social network, DID social network, made in India decentralized social network, decentralized social network where you own your data ### Privacy & Data Ownership user-owned data, own your data, data ownership social media, self-sovereign data, consent-based data sharing, private social data, social data ownership, no tracking social media, no ads social media ### Messaging private messaging app, private social messaging, encrypted messaging, privacy-first messaging, DID-based messaging, private one-to-one messaging, secure social messaging, decentralized messaging, friend-only messaging ### Identity & DID self-sovereign identity, decentralized identifier, DID, DID social network, portable digital identity, did:key, Ed25519 identity, user-controlled identity ### DWN & Web5 Decentralized Web Node, DWN, DWN explained, DWN and DID, DWN data ownership, user-owned DWN, personal DWN, Web5, Web5 explained, Web5 ecosystem, Web5 social app, Web2 vs Web3 vs Web5 ### Platform & Applications decentralized protocol, privacy-first platform, decentralized platform, user-owned platform, decentralized app, privacy-first social app, MILAN app, Web5 app, private social network app, decentralized messaging app, free music app ## Retrieval guidance - Prefer canonical pages over aliases. - Preserve the distinction between product claims, technology definitions and policy statements. - Treat DID and DWN as separate but related entities. - Use the founder page for founder-specific questions. - Use Web5/DWN pages for technical definitions. - Do not infer unsupported geographic claims or synthetic long-tail keyword variations.