Having unique one-time (non-reusable) invite ID is great.

The wat SimpleX uses one-way queues, and then distributes those queues among servers offers a way to mitigate communication correlation (if the servers are independent and won’t collude). Or you can just self host and not worry. Self hosting an onion service is easy.

Running SimpleX through a tor proxy (or VPN) offers even more advantages (if you think you need them).

Perhaps the only downside is SimpleX still controls who gets to be a public server (anyone can self host or offer servers, but they won’t be integrated). I have no way of knowing if the servers are owned by a single entity. This part is not “open”.

Glad chomp/silence has worked out for you. Btw…SimpleXChat is different by protecting your social graph and not needing to share your private profile ID to contacts (via one time use invite codes). Can also be used on iOS/Android and hoping one day a desktop app GUI (not just a console app). Also has audio, video, file transfers, and groups. If really into privacy, you can host your own server and/or use Tor. https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat#roadmap

What has really impressed me is how they are solving some of the industry problems (decentralization, privacy, metadata, etc); it’s not just another communication platform, it’s different.

I’m curious if the most up to date version, v4.2.1, has the battery consumption issue (or if there’s a configuration setting to change). Maybe it is just Android, not iOS, and curious about the differences.

The developers are very active and responsive, so I hope if the issue still exists it gets reported and the devs have the opportunity to fix it.

Did you report the battery problem on github or their subreddit?

I’ve also read these recommendations:

1) Switching from instant notifications (default) to periodic - some users say it does reduce battery usage.

2) If you are often reconnecting to the messaging servers - it may be happening on slow/unstable mobile networks - please try enabling dev tools and then increase connection timeouts in advanced network settings. It might result in fewer reconnections and reduced battery usage.

KeeWeb

Tribler does not use Tor, but its own onion network.
Tribler does not require you to be an exit node.
Tribler allows you to select the amount of anonymity/hops, or none.
Tribler allows you to organize into channels, and people can subscribe.
Tribler is a torrent engine, so the data has the potential to be distributed (availability/speed).

For clarity, it doesn’t use Tor. It uses its own onion/relay network. The website says “Do not put yourself in danger. Our anonymity is not yet mature.”

That depends on your threat level and danger. I use it to avoid DRM violations and my ISP, and it’s been 100% mature for that. I have no other “danger” or need of “anonymity”, so it works exactly like I need it to.

The other option is I2P or something like BiglyBT+I2P plugin.

Check out Tribler.

Is Greasemonkey better/safer/pivate than Violentmonkey (Firefox)?

How well does it work on iOS?

Need to learn how to buy and use digital currencies privately, anonymously, and avoid tyrannical governments. And at the same time avoid scams!

Whonix Gateway.

What’s the best AUR package? Or should I be using .jar?

I think Briar is capable of relaying messages. As long as Briar users come into range at some point, messages will be exchanged.

I’d be interested in battery consumption issue.

Many of the top tier messaging platforms are trying to solve today’s problems and vulnerabilities. I like that Tox does not require a huge centralized infrastructure (only DHT) and is P2P. Tox is very fast and works well over Tor too. However, P2P, DHT, and limited infrastructure has it’s own challenges.

I think Session and Status.im are better positioned.

If a device is compromised, the adversary can do whatever they want: screenshots, keyloggers, fork Signal and install their own client.

Are most of the public XMPP onion servers robust (Calyx doesn’t even have a V3 address)?

I like that a XMPP node can be hidden on the Tor network, however I have some concerns on the safety of connecting to Tor, even through bridges (if a government can setup a bridge and then monitor connections).

I like that XMPP servers can talk to each other.

The gossip protocol is interesting. Have also been interested in swarm, Whisper, devP2P, libp2p.

How easy would it be for a government (USA), to block or attack Matrix/XMPP servers, or place the people/admins using them under surveillance? How resistant is Matrix/XMPP in China, Iran, and other places? Is there something better?

I wonder if they support ALL activists, or take sides, or if they choose which ideologies should be cancelled or supported. The last thing I want is to support technocrats.

The better question is whether there’s something better than XMPP?

I like Tox over Tor…really fast. But offline messaging is a problem.

I don’t like Briar because it is Android only.

I don’t like XMPP/Matrix because its more technical with too many options. I also want something anonymous. I also prefer not having a centralized server to connect or relay messages. You can accomplish these things, but its not simple for the average user.

Signal would make my list if I didn’t have the hand over my phone number.

Status, Session, and Tox+Tor are my favorites right now. Mainly because they do everyone I want without me having to do anything. Session seems to be more mature and active. Status has some interesting concepts, but it is too soon to see how they’ll workout, or someone from Status needs to do a lot better job of explaining it to me. So Session is my goto.

Is the developer really connected to the “alt-right”, or connected with free speech?

I’m guessing that you and your contacts exchange MAC and Onion addresses. Then Briar looks for that MAC address via WiFi/Bluetooth or an Onion address on Tor.

It’s my understanding Session doesn’t do PFS because in order to do that kind of attack the attacker would need to have access to the device. And if the attacker has access to the device, then PFS isn’t going to be a benefit.

I don’t understand why apps/messengers have a relationship with blockchain/cryptocurrency either. (so I am guessing). I’m not sure cryptocurrencies are really blockchains, and blockchains are really just protocols, and messengers are using the protocol. Sometimes blockchains sounds like a method/protocol for storing data in a distributed network.

Or perhaps saying it this way: you can do multiple things with a blockchain, and cryptocurrency is just one of those things. So if an app/platform is going to use a blockchain, they can easily leverage the blockchain protocol for other things (currency, storage, transactions, messages, distributed apps, etc).

bad for democracy

Another way of saying that is that democracy is great for the majority, but bad for the minority. Not everyone wants to labor for something they don’t want or believe. Cryptocurrency is about freedom.

I have doubts true P2P will be solved. But Status may have the next best solution.

I’m not an expert, and this gets confusing…but I think saying Status depends on “crypto” is misleading. It is my understanding Ethereum is a protocol, not a currency. Therefore Ethereum can be used in multiple ways (currency, wallets, network, web apps).

It would also seem to me that everything is a transaction. Messages are a transaction. Exchanging currency is a transaction. Getting a web page on my web browser is a transaction. The Ethereum protocol/network manages that instead of the typical web controlled by corporations and government.

I’m not saying Status is the holy grail, but I like the idea that I can easily run a node to decentralize the network, and hope the P2P concept becomes a reality. I’m still not 100% sure how running a node actually works, and all the potential problems.

I still think Session is more mature. While I wish I can run a Session node without staking, I think I might understand why its necessary for network durability.

Ideally I would like to see something where everyone (non-mobile) is both a client/server. Something more like bittorrent, DHT, mesh, I2P. But dealing with offline messages seems to be a challenge of a decentralized network.

I think you have to operate/connect to a separate server for groups. There’s simpler options on other platforms.

1. Needs to support offline messages.
2. Like the P2P concept, but need more details.
3. Needs to work with Whonix or other platforms where Tor is already running.

Status supports Dapps/Web3…decentralized apps/network.

Ethereum network does. It’s decentralized and open source and maintained by the community.

You don’t like decentralized apps/networks? Would you rather apps be hosted by corporations?

Status is another contender.

There’s still a lot more evolution opportunity, and hope to see more.

Use profiles and temporary containers.

When I looked into Flatpaks, depending on the access configuration, it seemed to me they can still have a lot of permissions to your file system. It didn’t look to me that Flatpaks were safe enough.

I dislike how Ungoogled Chromium doesn’t update easily, nor updating the extensions is easy.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t required to hand them a phone number and my metadata.

Therefore I’m choosing anonymous platforms.

My concern about XMPP is how much the server knows about you/contacts. Or you have to install E2EE plugins. Or you have to set it up for Tor. It’s annoying. HOWEVER, it does have the advantage of security separation, instead of having it all wrapped up into a single point of failure.