this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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What's wrong with just using matrix?
Dunno TBH. It is apparently using the signal protocol, so there's that, and it's being spun out of pixelfed's own IM/DM feature, which is generally all over the place across the fediverse, so it all kinda makes sense I guess.
That doesn't mean anything. For example, WhatsApp is "using the signal protocol" but is very much a walled garden.
Sure ... it seems they were making a DM app for their platform and realised that it could be good as a standalone app.
Part of the picture for them is that pixelfed has started to experiment with transferable IDs or authentication, so that you can signup to pixelfed straight with a pre-existing mastodon account. It seems that want the same for this app. So the idea, I'm guessing, would be that if you want to start DMing with someone you know over the fediverse, you can go straight to this app, sign in straight away with your fediverse credentials, get your usual alias and find your friends with their same aliases. If true, I'd imagine that'd make it easier to sort side-load the app with any particular instance.
If you care about privacy and security, matrix has some glaring flaws. The biggest IMO is not currently encrypting metadata, so who you talk to and when is plaintext. The signal protocol encrypts everything, including the meta data.
How does the server know who to deliver a message to if the metadata is encrypted?
🤝
Sealed sender
I care about privacy and security so much that I don’t let a third-party own my chats, encrypted or not. I’m fine with unencrypted metadata on my server that’s in my own home.
@featured
Better yet, check out simplex chat https://simplex.chat/
It's the best of all...user friendly as well:)
@min_fapper
@lps
And it appears to have support on @yunohost - So self hosting should be easy 👍
@featured @min_fapper
That's just privacy, not security.
Isn't this largely mitigated by running your own homeserver?