Just use matrix from somewhere other than matrix.org.
this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
22 points (95.8% liked)
Privacy
40513 readers
204 users here now
A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
Some Rules
- Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
- Don't promote proprietary software
- Try to keep things on topic
- If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
- Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
- Be nice :)
Related communities
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
If file transfer is an issue with Briar, maybe #Jabber/#XMPP is better suited for our use case?
By default, modern clients use XEP-0363, i.e. file is uploaded to your server (typically encrypted) and download link plus decryption key is sent to the receiver.
However, files can also be transmitted directly using XEP-0234. This works only, if both parties are online at the same time. Clients can fall back to this method, e.g. if files are too large for the server.
For file transfers i have been using magic wormhole
I like the idea of briar, but i havent gotten into using it regularly with anyone yet.
In Briar, it's only possible to send images - not any other file, as of this writing.
They have a very clear stance on not rushing releases, and focusing on security and stability rather than features, which is laudable, but on the flip side that means one must probably wait for months, if not years, for new features.
Why not just transfer encrypted files through clearnet?
Also have a look at Jami. You can use it for calls and sharing files.
Second this.
- message delivery can be iffy
- VoIP works well
- you connect with people like a normal app that isn't going to scare your family off, not trying to get them to put in GUIDS
- it has all the creature comforts, attached/embedded photos, markup, attached files, attach pictures, share your location for 10 minutes (I'm on my way), history editing, deleting
- it has concurrent multi device support, so you can get messages on your phone, tablet, and desktop at the same time
- There's a full desktop client (Electron, i think 🤮 but it works)
- the dev team is small and they seem to like to work more on features than user issues. development is slow
- multi-person groups work fine
It's still the best E2E messaging system I've found; the only one my mom, wife, and sisters-in-law reliably use.
I just want them to focus on fixing the sketchy DHT that seems to cause every problem.
Good for certain scenarios but not for the everyday use, I would love to see that adaptability improved for the "chilling common situations" in the future.
SimpleX is my main atm, it can transfer files effectively.