Cloudron makes it easy to run web apps like WordPress, Nextcloud, GitLab on your server. Find out more or install now.


Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Bookmarks
  • Search
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Brand Logo

Cloudron Forum

Apps | Demo | Docs | Install
  1. Cloudron Forum
  2. Off-topic
  3. Best privacy chat apps

Best privacy chat apps

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Off-topic
135 Posts 26 Posters 62.9k Views 23 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • marcusquinnM Offline
    marcusquinnM Offline
    marcusquinn
    wrote on last edited by
    #90

    Just stumbled across this, maybe interesting, well reviewed too:

    • https://cointelegraph.com/news/after-launching-dapp-to-rival-whatsapp-blockchain-wants-to-take-on-instagram
    • https://www.jup.io/metis-messenger
    • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/metis/id1564486481

    Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
    Development https://brandlight.org
    Life https://marcusquinn.com

    doodlemania2D 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

      Just stumbled across this, maybe interesting, well reviewed too:

      • https://cointelegraph.com/news/after-launching-dapp-to-rival-whatsapp-blockchain-wants-to-take-on-instagram
      • https://www.jup.io/metis-messenger
      • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/metis/id1564486481
      doodlemania2D Offline
      doodlemania2D Offline
      doodlemania2
      App Dev
      wrote on last edited by
      #91

      yall should also check out Session (getsession.org) it's pretty sweet - a fork of Signal protocol with the backend using the Loki/Oxen network and in the table above, requires zero of the 19 permissions that Signal requires. I personally REALLY enjoy it.

      The downsides are obvious here in the usability department. In order to get to chatting with someone, you HAVE to exchange keys. Signal makes that easier cause they generate QR codes but also integrate with your contacts.

      One thing to note, however, as a plus to Signal, is they use confidential computing on Azure to hide all the contacts processing, which is a really great use of that particular tech.

      marcusquinnM L 2 Replies Last reply
      4
      • doodlemania2D doodlemania2

        yall should also check out Session (getsession.org) it's pretty sweet - a fork of Signal protocol with the backend using the Loki/Oxen network and in the table above, requires zero of the 19 permissions that Signal requires. I personally REALLY enjoy it.

        The downsides are obvious here in the usability department. In order to get to chatting with someone, you HAVE to exchange keys. Signal makes that easier cause they generate QR codes but also integrate with your contacts.

        One thing to note, however, as a plus to Signal, is they use confidential computing on Azure to hide all the contacts processing, which is a really great use of that particular tech.

        marcusquinnM Offline
        marcusquinnM Offline
        marcusquinn
        wrote on last edited by marcusquinn
        #92

        @doodlemania2 I did give Session a try, kinda felt primitive and like persuading anyone to switch from Signal would be at the expense of losing features for marginal additional privacy.

        get that the metadata with Signal isn't private, and that's annoying, but the main thing for me is avoiding using Facebook/Google products.

        I'm sure Session will continue to evolve, so hopefully they don't lose momentum and have the capability to reach feature parity with the current most popular apps.

        Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
        Development https://brandlight.org
        Life https://marcusquinn.com

        ianhyzyI 1 Reply Last reply
        4
        • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

          @doodlemania2 I did give Session a try, kinda felt primitive and like persuading anyone to switch from Signal would be at the expense of losing features for marginal additional privacy.

          get that the metadata with Signal isn't private, and that's annoying, but the main thing for me is avoiding using Facebook/Google products.

          I'm sure Session will continue to evolve, so hopefully they don't lose momentum and have the capability to reach feature parity with the current most popular apps.

          ianhyzyI Offline
          ianhyzyI Offline
          ianhyzy
          wrote on last edited by
          #93

          @marcusquinn yeah, a lot of alternatives to signal look neat but fail at being cross platform or easy for normal people to use

          1 Reply Last reply
          2
          • ? Offline
            ? Offline
            A Former User
            wrote on last edited by
            #94

            I've had to ditch Signal. It has been a nightmare to use. Notifications on Android and iOS are both spotty. My mom had missed calls several times because it just never rung for her (I verified this). Also for video calls it occasionally decides speakerphone is not needed, and won't work.

            0/10 somehow Element + Matrix is more usable.

            robiR 1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • ? A Former User

              I've had to ditch Signal. It has been a nightmare to use. Notifications on Android and iOS are both spotty. My mom had missed calls several times because it just never rung for her (I verified this). Also for video calls it occasionally decides speakerphone is not needed, and won't work.

              0/10 somehow Element + Matrix is more usable.

              robiR Offline
              robiR Offline
              robi
              wrote on last edited by
              #95

              The frequent disconnections from Telegram and Signal are problematic.

              It's like someone is deliberately disconnecting all sessions they can't intercept. Making it a lot less reliable.

              Sometimes video calls are better, and you can always stop video sharing, keeping the voice channel open.

              Same with GVoice calls, frequent drops, despite good networking on both sides.

              One of the better things for longer lasting voice comms is Team Speak. But the lack of availability of free clients on mobile puts that in the 'only at home' category.

              Conscious tech

              rmdesR 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • robiR robi

                The frequent disconnections from Telegram and Signal are problematic.

                It's like someone is deliberately disconnecting all sessions they can't intercept. Making it a lot less reliable.

                Sometimes video calls are better, and you can always stop video sharing, keeping the voice channel open.

                Same with GVoice calls, frequent drops, despite good networking on both sides.

                One of the better things for longer lasting voice comms is Team Speak. But the lack of availability of free clients on mobile puts that in the 'only at home' category.

                rmdesR Offline
                rmdesR Offline
                rmdes
                wrote on last edited by
                #96

                I'v been testing https://cwtch.im/ it's quite interesting, since you can host the server home
                and join other chats/servers or one-to-one over tor

                marcusquinnM robiR 2 Replies Last reply
                3
                • rmdesR rmdes

                  I'v been testing https://cwtch.im/ it's quite interesting, since you can host the server home
                  and join other chats/servers or one-to-one over tor

                  marcusquinnM Offline
                  marcusquinnM Offline
                  marcusquinn
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #97

                  @rmdes Nice! Looks like the list here has been updated since I last posted it:

                  • https://www.privacytools.io/#messaging

                  Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                  Development https://brandlight.org
                  Life https://marcusquinn.com

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  1
                  • rmdesR rmdes

                    I'v been testing https://cwtch.im/ it's quite interesting, since you can host the server home
                    and join other chats/servers or one-to-one over tor

                    robiR Offline
                    robiR Offline
                    robi
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #98

                    @rmdes sounds like a good app request?

                    Conscious tech

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

                      Chatting with @humptydumpty about alternatives to Discord, so thought I'd share my conclusions:

                      • Signal seems the easiest for people used to Whatsapp, Discord, Messenger, Whatever
                      • Telegram seems good but Signal being open-source seems better.
                      • Matrix / Element / Mattermost - too quirky and poor mobile experience.
                      • Rocket.Chat the best of our current Cloudron options but higher RAM needs.
                      • Jitsi & Jami look like the best of the App Wishlist alternatives.
                      • Tox looks OKish for desktop but no mobile.

                      Hope that helps some - anything better than the above I've missed?

                      L Offline
                      L Offline
                      LoudLemur
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #99

                      @marcusquinn

                      Session
                      https://getsession.org
                      Session will soon support video over Lokinet.

                      Berty
                      https://berty.tech/
                      Berty is based on IPFS (Inter Planetary File System), and near release. Keep an eye on it.

                      Cwtch
                      https://cwtch.im/

                      marcusquinnM 1 Reply Last reply
                      2
                      • L LoudLemur

                        @marcusquinn

                        Session
                        https://getsession.org
                        Session will soon support video over Lokinet.

                        Berty
                        https://berty.tech/
                        Berty is based on IPFS (Inter Planetary File System), and near release. Keep an eye on it.

                        Cwtch
                        https://cwtch.im/

                        marcusquinnM Offline
                        marcusquinnM Offline
                        marcusquinn
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #100

                        @LoudLemur Thanks. Session I like, worth a follow: twitter.com/session_app Anyone can DM me for an ID to connect if you want to test anything.

                        Video calls will be the game-changer for that, at least if they can have a comparable quality to FaceTime/Zoom, which are currently the best-of-(non-open-source)-breed in my experience.

                        Berty & Cwtch I need to try, both also sounds very cool.

                        The original point of this post being "Off-topic", was for non self-hosted, or not being dependent on self-hosting. The kinda thing you could give your folks to use and they'd have a low friction experience, and it would work well enough for them to also like and recommend to friends once they were also onboard. (something I still even struggle to convince people that really ought to trust me on, because lazyness & what's the point inertia is a very real thing targeted by the spyware that has become ubiquitous with "social media" and "big tech".

                        Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                        Development https://brandlight.org
                        Life https://marcusquinn.com

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        2
                        • marcusquinnM Offline
                          marcusquinnM Offline
                          marcusquinn
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #101

                          Have created a "Cloudron" Group in Session, for both testing, and off-the-record chat (well, as much as all other members have a record). DM me for my Session ID. It's probably safe to post publicly, but no hurry to find out otherwise from haste 🙂

                          Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                          Development https://brandlight.org
                          Life https://marcusquinn.com

                          L 1 Reply Last reply
                          3
                          • marcusquinnM Offline
                            marcusquinnM Offline
                            marcusquinn
                            wrote on last edited by marcusquinn
                            #102

                            Anyone tried this "Status" app to the above aims? Looks intriguing at least:

                            • https://status.im/
                            • https://status.im/get/
                            • https://cryptonews.com/coins/status/
                            • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/status-private-communication/id1178893006
                            • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.status.ethereum

                            Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                            Development https://brandlight.org
                            Life https://marcusquinn.com

                            jdaviescoatesJ 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

                              Anyone tried this "Status" app to the above aims? Looks intriguing at least:

                              • https://status.im/
                              • https://status.im/get/
                              • https://cryptonews.com/coins/status/
                              • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/status-private-communication/id1178893006
                              • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.status.ethereum
                              jdaviescoatesJ Online
                              jdaviescoatesJ Online
                              jdaviescoates
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #103

                              @marcusquinn while there are few good interesting ideas floating around in the web 3 space, and loads of money sloshing around to help experiment with such ideas, personally I find it mostly to be a big turn off for being a slow, expensive, and environmental nightmare. 🙂

                              I use Cloudron with Gandi & Hetzner

                              marcusquinnM 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • ? Offline
                                ? Offline
                                A Former User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #104

                                Oh gosh they incorporate “web3” 😞

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                1
                                • jdaviescoatesJ jdaviescoates

                                  @marcusquinn while there are few good interesting ideas floating around in the web 3 space, and loads of money sloshing around to help experiment with such ideas, personally I find it mostly to be a big turn off for being a slow, expensive, and environmental nightmare. 🙂

                                  marcusquinnM Offline
                                  marcusquinnM Offline
                                  marcusquinn
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #105

                                  @jdaviescoates Wait until you see how much energy humans consume to do the things the miners are replacing 😬

                                  Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                                  Development https://brandlight.org
                                  Life https://marcusquinn.com

                                  jdaviescoatesJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

                                    @jdaviescoates Wait until you see how much energy humans consume to do the things the miners are replacing 😬

                                    jdaviescoatesJ Online
                                    jdaviescoatesJ Online
                                    jdaviescoates
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #106

                                    @marcusquinn like what? What are they/ have they replaced. Nothing as far as I'm aware.

                                    A single Bitcoin transaction uses more energy than an average U.S. household uses in 2 months!

                                    I mean, perhaps you're referring to how much banks still invest in fossil fuels? But if you think web3 is going to replace banks any time soon you are wrong 🙂

                                    A 10-year old iPhone could process more transactions per second than the entirety of the Bitcoin network it's so insanely slow.

                                    I use Cloudron with Gandi & Hetzner

                                    marcusquinnM L scookeS 3 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • jdaviescoatesJ jdaviescoates

                                      @marcusquinn like what? What are they/ have they replaced. Nothing as far as I'm aware.

                                      A single Bitcoin transaction uses more energy than an average U.S. household uses in 2 months!

                                      I mean, perhaps you're referring to how much banks still invest in fossil fuels? But if you think web3 is going to replace banks any time soon you are wrong 🙂

                                      A 10-year old iPhone could process more transactions per second than the entirety of the Bitcoin network it's so insanely slow.

                                      marcusquinnM Offline
                                      marcusquinnM Offline
                                      marcusquinn
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #107

                                      @jdaviescoates Think that's one for the rest of the internet to debate. Personally, I see the incentives for more progress in energy production, efficiency, distribution and security as a good thing.

                                      Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                                      Development https://brandlight.org
                                      Life https://marcusquinn.com

                                      jdaviescoatesJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • marcusquinnM marcusquinn

                                        @jdaviescoates Think that's one for the rest of the internet to debate. Personally, I see the incentives for more progress in energy production, efficiency, distribution and security as a good thing.

                                        jdaviescoatesJ Online
                                        jdaviescoatesJ Online
                                        jdaviescoates
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #108

                                        @marcusquinn said in Best privacy chat apps:

                                        I see the incentives for more progress in energy production, efficiency, distribution and security as a good thing.

                                        OK, but Web 3 does that how?

                                        It's really not very distributed at all and pretty much the whole ecosystem relies on a tiny handful of privately owned and controled entities, just like Web 2

                                        See eg this nice critique by Signal's creator:

                                        https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html

                                        Also, what are these high energy "things the miners are replacing"?

                                        I use Cloudron with Gandi & Hetzner

                                        marcusquinnM 1 Reply Last reply
                                        2
                                        • jdaviescoatesJ jdaviescoates

                                          @marcusquinn said in Best privacy chat apps:

                                          I see the incentives for more progress in energy production, efficiency, distribution and security as a good thing.

                                          OK, but Web 3 does that how?

                                          It's really not very distributed at all and pretty much the whole ecosystem relies on a tiny handful of privately owned and controled entities, just like Web 2

                                          See eg this nice critique by Signal's creator:

                                          https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html

                                          Also, what are these high energy "things the miners are replacing"?

                                          marcusquinnM Offline
                                          marcusquinnM Offline
                                          marcusquinn
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #109

                                          Also, what are these high energy "things the miners are replacing"?

                                          Bankers.

                                          Web Design https://www.evergreen.je
                                          Development https://brandlight.org
                                          Life https://marcusquinn.com

                                          jdaviescoatesJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                          1
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • Bookmarks
                                          • Search