One thing radically different in #deltachat compared to Whatsapp and Signal: pervasive, effortless multi-profile support. We understand many worry about how to find others to get in contact with. The dreaded messenger network-scaling problem!
But if you onboard as a *group* that's less of a worry. We aim to ease and further optimize group-onboarding btw. And sooner or later you'll enjoy multi profile. Creating a chat profile without being chained to a phone number. Freedom and resilience.
We increasingly hear about China travellers who use #deltachat successfully where Whatsapp and Signal fail to work. Recently a family onboarded including a 85 old mother, to prepare for China travel. Everbody succeeded, no troubles!
#deltachat is all about resiliency and "just works" user experiences. Despite ongoing and prospective network blocking attempts, our apps manage to mitigate and remain working everywhere. Meanwhile we are preparing some next level resiliency/security features ;)
@rakoo @cy yeah, tho @thunderbird nowadays has #OpenPGP / #GPG - support built in ( #Enigmail ) and that just works.
But @delta / #deltaChat does make things way easier for "#TechIlliterate #Normies" and provides them with a familiar #UI & #UX from other #Messengers whilst also not requiring "yet another #server / #service" to be spun up, which is a major no-no in many organizations, espechally #businesses.
Whereas DeltaChat using #eMail as it's backbone infrastructure works fine, and that is an important point for it like #business use [i.e. #Germany] where all business communications have to be archived for at least 10 years for tax auditability reasons, and the whole #MailArchival issue has been "solved" by multiple providers and solutions so it makes sense to just do a +chat suffix, filter said messages and have them in the same #inbox as all other eMails.
I just wished #Thunderbird would also support displaying such chats similar to deltaChat to provide a #unified experience across platforms...
@delta / #deltaChat is not using #XMPP+#OMEMO (unlike #monoclesChat & #gajim) but #PGP/MIME on regular #eMail,...wait, why not just email people and use PGP, then?
@debby @monocles @Stuxhost well, @delta / #deltaChat is not using #XMPP+#OMEMO (unlike #monoclesChat & #gajim) but #PGP/MIME on regular #eMail, which makes it way easier to setup in organizations as not "yet another server needed" and also easier to comply with mandatory #archival laws in #business use-cases.
#Session & #Signal, like #Telegram & #WhatsApp, do not have their #backend #opensource|d nor allow #SelfHosting and demand #PII like #PhoneNumbers for registration if not useage for no valid reason. Plus they are not just able but obviously willing to snitch on their users (something neither DeltaChat nor monocles chat demand or even can as both do 100% #SelfCustody of all the keys!)
As for #sustainability, monocles is financed by #subscribers (they charge like €2 p.m. for mail & chat) and they can be paid completely anonymously (#Monero & #CashByMail!), whereas #Signal is a #MoneyBurningParty which engages in #Shitcoin-#Scams (see #MobileCoin!) for no valid reason…
@kkarhan @monocles @Stuxhost @delta Thank you for your valuable input! It's always enlightening to hear different perspectives on communication tools.
#Linphone Firstly, I appreciate the mention of Linphone. It is indeed a great tool, and I should have included it in my list. Linphone stands out for its versatility and strong support for various communication protocols, making it a robust option for both personal and professional use.
#DeltaChat is new to me, and I am eager to give it a try. However, I am curious: is it just another XMPP client, or does it offer unique features that set it apart? Generally, I prefer les feature-rich clients because I often use just simple text and voice communication. For my personal use case, XMPP is fine when it is compatible with TTS (Text-to-Speech). You're right that IRC and XMPP have their strengths, but I am always on the lookout for tools that I can offer to regular users.
#Signal and Session are both backed by single entities but prioritize user privacy. Personally, I don't have enough experience to delve deeply into the pros and cons of Signal and Session. A significant limitation of Signal is that I can't build the app from source code, and as far as I know, there is no real way to run it on a server OS—it's only available on iOS, Android, and via Waydroid on Linux, with wayland GUI. At least Session is working on x86 architectures. In general, I think both are useful for mainstream users due to their familiar interfaces and ease of use. While Signal and Session do a good job with privacy, they may not be the most secure options, and they certainly don't rank high on the Free Software scale. Would you agree with my evaluation, or could you elaborate on your criticism?
#Matrix is designed to be decentralized and open, allowing users to host their own servers. This decentralization provides greater control over data and enhances privacy. Comparing Matrix to XMPP+OMEMO might oversimplify its capabilities, as Matrix offers advanced features like cross-platform interoperability and robust end-to-end encryption. It's open-source, and I haven't seen any obvious problems with it. Could you elaborate on your thoughts about Matrix?
@debby #Mumble, #IRC, #XMPP (+OMEMO = @gajim / #monoclesChat) & #Linphone (#SIP / #VoIP) are the better options. #NextcloudTalk also exist and @monocles as well as @Stuxhost offer that.
#Signal and #Session are #proprietary, #centralized, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider solutions!
And #Matrix is just a shittier #XMPP+#OMEMO. Give @delta / #DeltaChat a try instead.
OfC #JitsiMeet and #WebCall are also great!
Last week four new #chatmail relays popped up from four different continents from four different entities.
Permission-free interoperability based on #cryptography ... That's how we like it and how it generally is with the email system: separation of transport and apps. App developers can't access messages, and relay operators can not break e2ee encryption. Fwiw May 14th there is another round at a #Moscow court where our lawyers will convey this impossibility for #deltachat to hand over data.
Yesterday, 20 people from the https://safesisters.org community onboarded with #DeltaChat in Lusaka, Zambia. Everything worked! Usability, privacy and #OfflineFirst ops were appreciated and #webxdc app based organizing met strong interest. Many participants engage in addressing challenges from surveillance state actors, family and partner abuse. Moreover, people with visual impairment were happy about Android's screen reader support.
It's events like this that validate our efforts!
We have several ground breaking developments going on in the background, and frankly, it's sometimes hard to not pre-announce them excitedly :)
However, we struggle to acquire public funding after the OTF contract broke away in February. Current need is around ~50K per month for ~10 people. , and we would like to support some contributors to switch their day job.
Fallback: even if funding dries up, #deltachat is bound to continue to work. It's pretty maintainable and intrinsically motivated.
@M0YNG
Can't #HomeAssistant send just a regular email to your #DeltaChat address?
Either my search skills are failing me, or the names are too generic, or it can't be done...
Anyone know if you can use #deltaChat for notifications from #homeAssistant?
I'm considering not renewing the VPS that runs a matrix server that I only use for this.
Some of you may remember posts where we talk about #deltachat being hardened to work under bad and adverserial network conditions where other messengers fail. Examples were Georgia, Russia and Iran at the time. But hardened network handling can be useful also during non-political turmoil like currently in Spain where there are some reports that DC messages get through where WhatsApp failed .... https://sonomu.club/@icaria36/114417052677227592
In any case, wishing all the people in Spain and Portugal quick recovery!
Still... I guess even #DeltaChat communications would fail me if the data center of my ChatMail server would be affected by a power cut, right? Or is there some kind of redundancy?
No idea how accidental this #blackout is, but it's a good chance to think how to make your mobile phone still useful when a bunch of servers (including your default ones) go off.
There is an ongoing massive electricity power #blackout in Spain and Portugal. Some of my friends are reporting that not even WhatsApp is reliable, working for some contacts and not for others. I'm still trying to understand how this is possible, and maybe it has to do with the recipients'nearest telecommunications more than the WA servers.
Anyway, fun fact, the friends who reached out did it via #DeltaChat
Still... (next)
Please help us get rough stats as we don't have technical means to collect such stats, by design.
Do you use #deltachat or are considering it? Which kind of operator do you use?
23 is the number of currently active #chatmail relays we heart about by now. Only 6 are listed at https://chatmail.at/relays to complicate ongoing state-level blocking attempts. Please keep setting up #chatmail relays -- and thanks to all the early adopters and carers!
July 2025 some key contributors will do sessions in #Lille, France at @passthesaltcon
and discuss the state of efforts to scale #deltachat #chatmail and #webxdc to billions of people and bots, without any central points of control.
Organizational note: It might appear that #deltachat #chatmail and #webxdc contributors are easily "on the same page". In fact, there are many ongoing controversial discussions in backrooms and public spaces. We are dealing with tons of user perspectives and feedback, researcher and developer stances, many UX/UI considerations, complex implementation and platform adaptation. We are internally allowing contradictions and complexity ... See also Ashby's requisite variety https://edgeofpossible.com/ashbys-law-variety-organisational-change/
Today we are unveiling two brand new features by ... drum-roll ... doing nothing:
- No "AI" integration involved or planned. Consequently, you don't need to teach your relatives how to disable AI!
- No proprietary server components: servers are fast, efficient and freely replicable, no permissions needed!
Moreover, our apps are easier to use and onboard with than SIM/phone number based apps: Multi-device and Multi-profile handling is a piece of cake.
Jeder Messenger hat seine Fans – aber manche Communitys sind echt anstrengend. Die größten Missionare findet man mit Abstand bei Threema, dicht gefolgt von Delta Chat. Kritik? Undenkbar. Da wird sofort erklärt, warum du das Problem bist.
Aber hey, sollen sie ruhig über mich herziehen – die kostenlose Werbung nehm ich doch gern mit. Wenn sie sich schon aufopfern, um meinen Namen in ihren Filterblasen zu verbreiten, will ich da nicht im Weg stehen. 
