The term ‘dapp‘ refers to a web application built using decentralized technologies, especially smart contract blockchains like Ethereum, and the term has become synonymous with Web3 apps. While apps and dapps are both accessed by the internet and have websites that offer specific services, that’s generally where their similarities end.
The key feature of Web3 internet and blockchain technology is decentralization, which provides censorship resistance, protection against infrastructure damage, and immunity from data corruption. Blockchains are often used as decentralized payments networks for cryptocurrencies, but thanks to smart contracts they can also act as databases to store and serve small amounts of app data. There also exists a decentralized file-sharing network called the Interplanetary File System, or ‘IPFS,’ where nodes in the network store and share files with each other. IPFS is where NFT metadata is usually stored (though not always), since it almost guarantees the data will never be lost, censored, or corrupted. IPFS can store any type of file, including website pages that can interact with blockchains, and it costs nothing to store files on IPFS, making it invaluable as a backup solution for Web3.
All of this comes together when developers construct decentralized applications, or ‘dapps.’ As CoinDesk explains, dapps are very similar to apps one can use on their phone or computer, except they use blockchain technology to keep users’ data out of centralized databases, and are connected to via a crypto wallet instead of a username/password login. Decentralization is one of the biggest differences between Web3 and Web2 internet applications, where smart contracts are used to handle digital assets and store user data, but they can also leverage the IPFS file storage network to back up the app’s website. A dapp that was built to be 100 percent decentralized often leverages a DAO for community governance to keep governance power distributed, but some dapps are simple enough to not need any maintenance or management after they are deployed. Dapp.com shows hundreds of examples of existing dapps across many blockchains, most of which are either games or decentralized finance (DeFi) dapps.
Blockchain And IPFS Make Dapps Unstoppable
Dapps that leverage IPFS to host backup webpages are truly unstoppable. Because IPFS nodes will copy and host files from other nodes that are requested from them, the dapp’s user interface will spread throughout the IPFS network and will be impossible to modify or delete. It will also always be accessible to those who have its address. Many reputable decentralized finance dapps like Uniswap and Aave have backups of their interfaces hosted on IPFS, so even if their main HTTP website goes down (or is taken down) users can still access their services by falling back to the IPFS pages.
This feature is a crucial difference between apps and dapps, as apps can be destroyed by taking down their website and shutting down their data center. In contrast, nobody can shut down a blockchain hosting a dapp’s smart contracts, and anyone can access or spin up a new IPFS webpage to interact with them. On the downside, users have to pay “gas fees” to store or modify data on a blockchain, therefore dapps are often engineered to store and collect as little data as possible. This also means dapps cannot easily collect user data for sale to third parties, and thanks to blockchain transparency, a dapp knows where all its user data goes.
Dapps are ubiquitous in the world of Web3 and blockchain, and are a new way to build web applications. Dapps are distinguished by the decentralized technology they are built on, which often includes a combination of blockchain smart contracts for light data storage or digital asset interactions, an HTTP website that can be found by Google to interact with the contracts, and an IPFS backup website in case the HTTP website goes down or is removed. Whereas normal web apps can be shut down and all their data lost, dapps can never be completely destroyed.
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