ELI5 (ok, maybe 10) Matrix chat
Have downloaded the Beeper app which seems to nicely integrate a few of my favourite chat protocols. I noticed Matrix in the mix however.
I've heard, obliquely, of Matrix, but just assumed it's yet another messaging protocol. Would appear that's not the case though? Where would one get started? Why would I even want to use this vs the multitude of others? Is there an NZ Matrix server? Does it even matter? Why did the last season of GoT go so badly off the rails (oh wait, we know the answer to that one)...
TIA!
Matrix is an open source protocol for federated chatrooms, kind of like if someone mixed Lemmy with Discord and Signal. You make an account with a Matrix 'homeserver' (can be your own self-hosted server) just like Lemmy, so you'll have a username like [email protected]. Once you do you can join any number of Spaces, akin to Discord servers. Unlike Discord, these servers will be hosted on the homeserver which means they can be self-hosted, and often come with strong safety guarantees like end-to-end encryption or the double ratchet algorithm as seen in Signal (depending on how the homeserver is configured). Matrix is really just a protocol, so there are a bunch of chat clients that implement it, the first-party client is called Element, but there are many to choose from.
I would argue the main reason to use Matrix over Slack or Discord is much the same reason you'd use Signal over Whatsapp - data privacy. Because you can self-host the homeserver any spaces you make can be hosted on your local machine. For those who are privacy advocates that's a very good reason to use Matrix over most other solutions. If you're a company or a concerned individual that routinely deals with data that really shouldn't be on the 'cloud' (e.g. trade secrets, materials under NDA, personal information, etc.) then Matrix seems like a better fit than say Slack, provided you self-host. Discord has been under fire for their privacy policy for end users, so you might consider Matrix as a replacement for Discord too.
Their selling point is many chat networks in one.
I use Beeper because it's the only app I know of that let's me chat to everyone on Facebook without needing to have a Facebook app installed on my phone.
Facebook doesn't even let you use the website to chat from mobile, the bastards.
(Worth mentioning Beeper can't do Facebook calls, but will give you a message when someone tries to call)
Yeah, I am not aware of another way to take Facebook calls without having Facebook messenger installed.
The other thing with Beeper is you are generally required to have the other app installed as well. Not for Facebook, but often you are required to have the other app on your phone to make it work. They are putting all the chats in one place, not removing the need for the other apps.
The old Beeper Android app supports SMS, so I can see the texts come through on my laptop. But the new one only supports RCS, and requires you to install Google Messages to get this set up, so I'm still using the old app that is no longer updated. The new app is recent, but I just can't bring myself to install Google Messages on my almost-Google-free phone.
Oh, was that Pidgin? I had forgotten about that! Having just looked it up, it seems it's desktop only but it does support Facebook via plugin.
It sounds like it would be great to have on Android but I can't find an Android app for it.
Beeper does allow self-hosting, though I think you have to use a matrix client, last I checked you can't use their apps to connect to your own server but you can access your Facebook chat or whatever through a matrix client by running the bridges they provide.
Pidgin for Android would be amazing. I found references to an app from 2010 but the links all go nowhere so I guess that didn't survive the test of time.
I'll try to add on to what others have said. Matrix is a protocol. Element is the client made by the people behind Matrix but you can use any Matrix client. Matrix is the protocol behind Beeper but they don't put much effort into integrating with Matrix, so for example (last I checked) you can't log in to a Matrix account on Beeper.
However, your Beeper account is a Matrix account so you can join Matrix rooms with it. It's a little janky, but basically you go to the menu in Beeper and find the option to join a Matrix room, then follow the instructions. From memory you might only be able to do this from the desktop application, not on mobile, but the room shows on mobile once you connected on desktop.
Lemmy.NZ has a Matrix chat, see: https://lemmy.nz/post/169187
There is an NZ homeserver: https://mtrx.nz
This is run by fediservices.NZ, the same folks who provide a server for us to run Lemmy.NZ on. But you aren't able to connect a matrix account like this into Beeper, you'll need to use a different app like Element.
Hope this helps!