this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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Privacy

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I don't think people on this sub use it, but it's great news for us. The worse it gets the likelier people move on.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Don't get me wrong, I love matrix, but works like a charm is not how I would describe that. Element Just seems to make everything harder because you have to keep track of your session keys. That way if you have a new device and can't use the previous device you don't get locked out And then to top it off you have the export and import of end to end encrypted room keys which even for somebody like myself who is technical enough to manage it has managed to screw it up almost every time. I find something like session or SimpleX easier because you're not having to manage keys like that. SimpleX has an actual database file export instead of key management and you need only remember the decryption key. Session of course uses session IDs with a neumonic seed phrase like crypto

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Interesting concept! Element isnt my favorite client either but it has nothing to do with running or using matrix. Its like using an iphone and saying calling someone is very expensive.

The keys situation needs work though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I havent found another client that really improves the situation though.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I use fluffychat daily and it works well. The issue atm is that frequently changing devices, leaving and joining a lot of rooms can disrupt the experience. If you talk mostly on the same devices and in the same rooms there is no issue as far as I can tell.

As all FOSS software it needs work and people who want to put in that work. I wont help with element and synapse since the element folks want contributors to sign away their rights which I‘m not okay with.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I don't blame you for that. I just feel like Matrix in general is rather complicated for normal people. I like simple x a lot because all the keys are just in a database and the database is encrypted instead of having to remember the keys and session obviously only needs the mnemonic seed for restoration. Like, I can manage a cryptocurrency wallet absolutely fine, but there are a number of different times that I have lost access to encrypted chats on Matrix due to not getting the key situation right.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, a lot of apps have interesting functions. Since matrix already has a lot of users and is somewhat integrated with the other services I‘ll stay with it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I use matrix daily, but i am fully aware that i could lose my chats and so its not my primary. That honor goes to Signal (well, actually molly).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I still have a problem with signal. Maybe its because I dont understand how it works. I assume that your data is hosted somewhere since you need to be able to check in somewhere but maybe thats untrue. With matrix I know where my data is, I can look at it and delete it. Thats worth a lot to me.

But hey, everybody is different.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, Session and SimpleX are better for that reason. Signal only hosts data (encrypted client side) until it can be delivered. They have only the registered phone number and last used date but thats it. SimpleX and session dont have phone number registration and so cant give that up either.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Okay, so signal keeps even less than I thought. Pretty awesome, ngl.

I‘ll just keep it in mind to see if the others get to a state where it make sense to use them instead of matrix.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You can just restore with your recovery key

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If the server holds your room keys encrypted by your restore key, sure. But thats still a 3rd party holding your keys.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Not if you run your own instance 😁

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Wow I can't believe this software hasn't been widely adopted yet