Messenger

Humanity is in need of a fun to use, secure and decentral messenger.

• User identity can be tied to email (for account recovery)
• Decentralized (device to device works) + federated (optional servers help make the network go fast)
• E2EE message content (msg, sticker, etc.) + metadata (who msgs whom)
• Connect (share keys) by scanning QR Code - “Invite link” fallback
• Thick client (user keeps message history - default is 2 months) + thin server (just relay messages)
• Use Rust / Erlang for server
• Default: use internet, fallback: Wi-Fi Mesh; Bluetooth (like bitchat)

Chat Features (Telegram has best chat UX):

• group chats
• file transfer
• stickers

Account:

• public key
• username
• verified contacts

Matrix drawbacks:

• Olm/Megolm does not offer forward secrecy for group messaging
• Olm/Megolm does ensure end-to-end encryption for message data, but not for metadata.
• Federation makes it challenging to be GDPR compliant
• Synapse is very heavy, other implementations are less production ready
• For better or worse, the matrix foundation is under UK jurisdiction.

Existing Chat Shitshow

Whatsapp and Telegram are security nightmares. WA being centralized and has no metadata encryption. Telegram is centralized and has no encryption by default.

• Signal has best encryption but is centralized -> trust me bro mentality.
• Matrix has horrible UX and no metadata encryption.
• Berty chat based on IPFS https://berty.tech/messenger/
• Bitchat: P2P bluetooth

MLS (secure group messaging)

MLS = a standardized group key agreement + encryption protocol
(RFC 9420, finalized 2023)

Secure group messaging with forward secrecy, post-compromise security, and efficient membership changes.

#coding