IPFS is a peer-to-peer protocol for storing and sharing files. HTTP, the foundation of the web, is location-addressed. You request a file at a specific URL. That URL points to a server. If the server goes down, the file is inaccessible. IPFS is content-addressed. Files are identified by their content hash. You ask the network for a file by its hash. Any peer that has the file can serve it.
This creates a decentralized alternative to HTTP. Files persist as long as at least one peer has them. Peers share bandwidth. Content is permanent, changing the file changes its hash, so old versions remain accessible. IPFS is used for NFT metadata. An NFT points to a JSON file on IPFS. That file is distributed across the network. It won't be deleted just because one server goes down.
Censorship-resistant content distribution becomes possible with IPFS. Hosting a website on IPFS means no single entity can take it down. The tradeoff is discoverability. With HTTP, you have URLs. With IPFS, you have content hashes. Finding content requires discovery mechanisms outside the protocol.
IPFS represents a genuine alternative to centralized hosting that prioritizes permanence and resilience over convenience.