Page "Freenet" Paragraph 7

Many of the differences in how Freenet behaves at a user level are direct or indirect consequences of its strong focus on free speech and anonymity.

Freenet attempts to protect the anonymity of both people inserting data into the network ( uploading ) and those retrieving data from the network ( downloading ).

Unlike file sharing systems, there is no need for the uploader to remain on the network after uploading a file or group of files.

Instead, during the upload process, the files are broken into chunks and stored on a variety of other computers on the network.

When downloading, those chunks are found and reassembled.

Every node on the Freenet network contributes storage space to hold files, and bandwidth that it uses to route requests from its peers.