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---
---
title: What is LBRY exactly? Is it a protocol, an app, a website, or a company?
category: LBRY 101
order: 1
@ -10,51 +10,34 @@ First and foremost, LBRY is a new *protocol* which allows anyone to build apps t
Traditional video (or other content) sites such as YouTube, Instagram, and Spotify store your uploads on their servers and allow viewers to download them. They also allow creators to make some money through advertising or other mechanisms. However, there are some well-known drawbacks, especially for people whose material is perceived as not being advertiser-friendly.
LBRY aims to be an alternative to these sites, allowing publishers and their fans to interact directly
without the risk of demonetization or other meddling.
LBRY aims to be an alternative to these sites, allowing publishers and their fans to interact directly without the risk of demonetization or other meddling.
What makes this all possible is the blockchain technology developed by the creator of Bitcoin.
Do you have to understand any of this to use and enjoy LBRY? No. Does it still matter to users? Yes!
## What Bitcoin accomplished
Blockchain technology, of which Bitcoin is the most famous example, enables people to create online databases where no single entity can control what goes in the database. With Bitcoin, when I send money to someone, my computer broadcasts "hey, the person with this particular private encryption key (me) is sending money to that person over there" to the network, and the mining process makes everyone agree that indeed, I sent that money, so my balance goes down and the recipient's goes up. 3Blue1Brown (a maths channel) has a good explanation of how this
all works [here](https://beta.lbry.tv/@3Blue1Brown:b/ever-wonder-how-bitcoin-and-other:1).
In LBRY, the same mechanism is used to store *an index of what content is available* and
*how to download it*, as well as financial transactions (such as tips, and purchases of paid content)
using the Bitcoin-like currency LBC (LBRY Credits). When a creator publishes something on LBRY,
a "claim" is made on the LBRY blockchain. You can think of think of it as an announcement: *hey everyone,
I've published this file, here's some information about it, and instructions for how to download it
from the peer-to-peer network*. For the same reasons that nobody can prevent a Bitcoin transaction
from taking place, nobody can prevent a transaction (e.g., a publication or a tip)
from appearing on the LBRY blockchain.
Some other sites also serve their content from a peer-to-peer data network. However,
the index of available content is centralized and can be easily censored.
## What happens when you publish
As soon as a claim has been published, other users can see that the content exists and start downloading
it directly from you. Once they have a copy, they also become an extra node on the network that can
upload the file to others.
However, since some content is not immediately downloaded by others,
the LBRY team also runs a 'reflector' server which automatically downloads a copy of your content
when you publish it, so that it will be available to others if you turn off your computer.
In the long run, this reflector server will eventually be replaced with a decentralized network of servers.
## Why Build A Protocol?
Building [protocols, not platforms](/news/blockchain-is-love-blockchain-is-life), is the future of the free, open internet. Almost every tech giant today is a centralized service that sells users' personal information and attention to advertisers. They spend a lot of money chasing their product (your personal information and time/attention), but at the end of the day, users (you) offer it up for free in exchange for access to the platform.
Building [protocols, not platforms](/news/blockchain-is-love-blockchain-is-life), is the best way to secure a free, open internet. Almost every tech giant today is a centralized service that sells users' personal information and attention to advertisers. They spend a lot of money chasing their product (your personal information and time/attention), but at the end of the day, users (you) offer it up for free in exchange for access to the platform.
We think users should own their content (and their privacy) instead of handing it over to a corporate giant and their advertising buddies. If you think we're paranoid, there are dozens of examples of [companies abusing users](/news/why-do-tech-giants-abuse-their-users) and acting against their interests. It's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you.
## Open Source and Community Driven
The LBRY project is more than just a new protocol. It is also a company, *LBRY Inc.*, which is developing a *LBRY app* to allow users to interact with the protocol easily. Not only is [our app](/get?auto=1) completely open-source, but others are welcome to create competing apps that also use the LBRY protocol. For a content creator, your uploaded content will be available to all of these apps at the same time.
## Community Driven and Open Source
Everything built to power LBRY is open source and designed to be controlled by the public at large. Hundreds of developers have contributed to the core code bases that power LBRY and thousands of other community members have helped in other ways: recruiting creators, performing translations, making graphics, and so much mroe.
LBRY is challenging the centralized, corporate model from the ground up. Everything we've built is open-source, decentralized, and belongs to the community using it.
While there is a company behind LBRY called _LBRY Inc._, we attempt to tie our own hands as much as possible in ever becoming an evil faceless megacorp. By making everything open-source and standardized, anyone in the world can walk away from LBRY with everything in tact (or make a new, better version).
<h3 style="text-align: center;" markdown="1">I'd Buy That For A Dollar!</h3>
<video width="100%" controls src="https://spee.ch/c/Id-Buy-That-for-a-Dollar.mp4"/></video>
## How and Why LBRY Uses Blockchain
Well you're in luck because you can [download the LBRY app](/get?auto=1) for free and build LBRY with us today. Try it out and let us know what you think!
Blockchain technology like Bitcoin and LBRY enables people to create databases that no single entity controls.
[Download the LBRY App Now](/get?auto=1)
With Bitcoin, when you send money to someone, your computer broadcasts "hey, the person with this particular secret (a private key) is sending money to that person over there" to the network, and the mining algorithm ensures everyone agrees that indeed, you sent that money, so your balance goes down and the recipient's goes up. For more on this, check out this [great video](https://beta.lbry.tv/@3Blue1Brown:b/ever-wonder-how-bitcoin-and-other:1) by LBRYian @3Blue1Brown.
In LBRY, the same mechanism is used to store *an index of what content is available* and *how to download it*, as well as financial transactions (such as tips, and purchases of paid content) using the Bitcoin-like currency LBC (LBRY Credits). When a creator publishes something on LBRY, an entry is made on the LBRY blockchain. You can think of think of it as an announcement: *hey everyone, I've published this file, here's some information about it, and instructions for how to download it from the peer-to-peer network*.
For the same reasons that nobody can prevent a Bitcoin transaction from taking place, nobody can prevent a transaction (like a publication or a tip) from appearing on the LBRY blockchain. Other sites exist that share their content from a peer-to-peer data network. However, the index of available content is still centralized and can be easily censored.
## This Is Amazing, Take My Money
We have bad news for you, you can use LBRY for free.
[Download the LBRY app](/get?auto=1) for free and experience content freedom. Then [let us know what you think](https://chat.lbry.com)!.