We're Hosting a Matrix Secure Messaging Homeserver!

What's Matrix?

Put simply, Matrix is a system used to send instant messages, images, videos and much more between users. It takes the best parts of modern messaging apps and pairs them with the freedom to choose who hosts your data, or better yet, the ability to host it yourself! Matrix supports chatting across different servers, so if you and a friend sign up to different services, you can still message one another! It's kind of like how you can email your friend who has a Gmail account even though you're using Hotmail. This awesome feature is known as federation.

Messages are end-to-end encrypted, just like with other chat apps. This means nobody except the people in the chat are able to decode the messages sent. With Matrix, you pick a username of your choice, so there's no need to hand out your phone number or email address. Much of Matrix is focused on being easy to use, private and resiliant to outages. Some servers even support a feature called "bridging", where you're able to link Matrix to other existing messaging platforms. People are using this clever feature to consolidate how many messaging apps they need on their phone.

A Choice of Home

With Matrix, you get to choose where your data lives. This is different to major chat apps like WhatsApp or Telegram, where you have no choice but to let them scrutinise and sell your activity to advertisers and any company / government that's willing to pay. Matrix addresses a lot of the privacy worries that are coming out of the woodwork with the biggest chat apps. Most big Matrix servers are hosted by non profit companies that put privacy first, like Mozilla (who makes the Firefox web browser) and Halogen City, who are dedicated to running a secure and private space to chat in. There's also the official Matrix.org homeserver, however it's recommended to avoid signing up here, as the server is extremely busy and some features are turned off due to how congested it is.

Host Your Own Private Chat Server

For those who really want to take control of their data, it's possible to host your very own Matrix homeserver! Running your own server means messages sent between you and friends on that server are wholly owned by you, and are visible only to you and them. No big company is able to see your data, or sell it off for their own profit. Federation to other servers is entirely optional, so if you want to keep your server private for just you and others you've invited, you can do so. Self hosting a server from scratch is a little more advanced than many would be comfortable with, however there are paid setups available that cost about the price of a Starbucks coffee each month. These come ready to use and all you have to do is connect your app and invite your friends.

Pick an App!

A really cool feature of Matrix is you don't have to use one app that's forced on you, unlike most chat services. It's like how you could choose from Outlook, Gmail or a variety of other apps to access your email. Matrix has apps that behave like your favourite chat app, or apps that are like Discord or Slack. There's a lot of different apps out there, some of which are relatively easy to use, and others that are for more advanced users or developers. For those just stepping into the world of Matrix, consider trying Element or Cinny. These are well developed apps that let you get straight to chatting. Apps that let you access Matrix servers are commonly known as "clients".

Element is the most common app used to access Matrix as it has nearly all available features and comes with a decent User Guide. It is strongly recommended to look through this guide, as most Matrix clients are a little different to set up than your typical instant messaging app. Element has versions for Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. As Element is still in heavy development, you'll likely run into the occasional bug.

Cinny is a web and desktop client with arguably the most polished and elegant interface of them all. If you want an app that "just works", Cinny offers a seriously beautiful and functional experience at the cost of slightly more complex setup. If you use the web based version, you don't even have to install an app! Cinny is our favourite app for general day to day chatting while at work on our computers. Cinny doesn't yet support voice or video calling at the time of writing, but if you have an app like Element installed on your phone, you'll still be able to make and receive calls from there.

No matter which app you choose, all share most core features with one another, so you can still communicate with friends using a different app.

If you'd really like to dive in to Matrix and get to grips with the protocol, check out their website at matrix.org. The protocol as well as many of the clients and server packages are still being developed and added to, so new features often pop up on the platform. As Matrix is open source, developers are able to work on the project directly, or create clients, servers, bots and bridges that interact with the protocol.