HELIOS · Project

Privacy-First Decentralized Social Networking Platform Your Company Can Build On

digitalPilotedTRL 6

helios-h2020.eu

Imagine if instead of Facebook or LinkedIn owning all your data and deciding what you see, you could run your own social network that talks to other networks — like email works across Gmail and Outlook. HELIOS built exactly that: a toolkit for creating social apps where users own their data, conversations adapt to where you are and who you're with, and no single company controls the platform. It even includes augmented reality features for shared spaces and tools for journalists and content creators to publish without middlemen.

By the numbers

consortium partners across the project

countries represented in the consortium

total deliverables produced

demo deliverables including AR, VR, and communication tools

industry partners in the consortium

dimensions of context-aware communication (contextual, spatial, temporal)

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies today depend on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Slack for employee communication, customer engagement, and content distribution — but they don't control the data, the algorithms, or the rules. A policy change or algorithm tweak can wipe out your audience overnight. For industries handling sensitive information, sending data through centralized US-owned platforms creates compliance headaches with GDPR and sector-specific regulations.

The solution

What was built

HELIOS delivered 35 deliverables including a beta release ready for piloting, a candidate release, an augmented reality interface for shared spaces, 3D authoring tools for virtual space creation, a journalistic app with broadcast-grade workflow orchestration, and group communication services that create ad-hoc networks based on context dimensions.

Audience

Who needs this

Enterprise communication platform providers looking to offer privacy-first alternativesMedia companies and newsrooms needing secure journalist collaboration toolsHealthcare IT companies requiring GDPR-compliant patient community platformsDefense and government contractors building secure internal social networksAR/VR companies seeking social interaction layers for immersive experiences

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Enterprise Software & Communication

mid-size

Target: Companies building workplace collaboration tools or enterprise social networks

If you are a collaboration software company struggling with customer demand for data sovereignty and GDPR compliance — HELIOS developed a peer-to-peer social networking toolkit with group communication services that create ad-hoc networks based on context dimensions. With 6 industry partners already involved in development, the modular architecture lets you plug privacy-first social features into your existing product without rebuilding from scratch.

Media & Broadcasting

any

Target: News organizations and digital media companies

If you are a media company losing revenue to platform middlemen and struggling to control your content distribution — HELIOS built a prosumer production service with a broadcast-grade workflow engine capable of orchestrating microservices for content creation and monetization. The journalistic app demonstrator was tested with real workflow integration, giving newsrooms a way to produce and distribute content on their own terms.

AR/VR & Immersive Technology

SME

Target: Companies developing augmented or virtual reality social experiences

If you are an AR/VR company that needs social interaction layers for shared immersive spaces — HELIOS delivered an augmented reality interface for shared spaces and 3D authoring tools for virtual space creation using web technologies. These tools were built as part of a 15-partner consortium across 8 countries, meaning they were designed for cross-platform interoperability from the start.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adopt HELIOS technology?

Based on available project data, HELIOS was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), which typically means core results are openly available. The modular architecture was designed to reduce development cost and deployment complexity for applications built on top of it. Specific licensing terms would need to be discussed with the coordinator VTT in Finland.

Can this scale to enterprise-level deployment with thousands of users?

The project designed a peer-to-peer federated architecture specifically to avoid the bottleneck of centralized servers, which inherently supports scaling. Beta and candidate releases were completed, and group communication services were demonstrated with context-based ad-hoc network creation. Enterprise-scale stress testing details would need to be confirmed with the consortium.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we build commercial products on it?

The consortium of 15 partners across 8 countries shares IP rights under standard EU Horizon 2020 rules. VTT (Finland) as coordinator would be the first point of contact. With 6 industry partners and 2 SMEs in the consortium, commercial exploitation paths were clearly part of the project design.

How does this comply with GDPR and data privacy regulations?

Privacy and trust were core design goals — the project explicitly aimed to ensure the highest level of trust and privacy through its decentralized peer-to-peer architecture. Data stays with users rather than on centralized servers, which aligns directly with GDPR data minimization and user control principles.

Is this ready to use today or still experimental?

The project closed in February 2022 with a beta release for piloting and a subsequent candidate release, plus multiple version 2 demonstrators. The modular strategy was designed to ensure continuous development beyond the scope of the project. Current maintenance status should be verified with VTT.

How hard is it to integrate with our existing systems?

HELIOS was built with a modular strategy specifically to reduce deployment complexity for social media applications built on top of it. The 35 deliverables include distinct modules for group communication, content production, AR interfaces, and 3D tools — you can adopt individual components without taking the entire platform.

Consortium

Who built it

The HELIOS consortium brings together 15 partners from 8 European countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland), with a healthy 40% industry ratio — 6 industry partners and 6 universities, backed by 3 research organizations. The 2 SMEs in the mix suggest startup-level agility alongside institutional depth. VTT, the Finnish national research center, coordinates — a well-known technology transfer organization with a strong track record of moving research into commercial products. The geographic spread across Northern, Southern, and Central Europe means the platform was designed and tested across different market conditions and regulatory environments, which matters for any company considering pan-European deployment.

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OYCoordinator · FI
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTOparticipant · FI
ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISparticipant · EL
THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLINparticipant · IE
WORLDLINE IBERIA SAparticipant · ES
ATOS SPAIN SAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITA DI PISAparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONAparticipant · ES
FONDAZIONE LINKS - LEADING INNOVATION & KNOWLEDGE FOR SOCIETYparticipant · IT
ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES IBERIA SLthirdparty · ES
UNIVERSITAT PASSAUparticipant · DE
GRASSROOTS ARTS AND RESEARCH UG (HAFTUNGSBESCHRANKT)participant · DE
SWISS TXT AGparticipant · CH

How to reach the team

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland — contact through their technology licensing office or via SciTransfer for a warm introduction

Order a report on this consortium See TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how HELIOS decentralized social technology fits your product roadmap? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the development team and help you evaluate integration options. Contact us for a free one-page technology brief.

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