Free Code Chat Apps: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:11, 16 September 2020

Most people are familiar with proprietary chat apps like Skype, FaceTime, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Hangouts, WeChat, and so on. Chat apps differ from email in that they are designed mainly for use by two or more people having a back-and-forth conversation made up of short messages (usually 1 or 2 sentences at a time), and often online at the same time. Most modern chat apps also support voice and video calling, and voice mail. This page has information about chat apps whose code is available as a commons, under a free software license, allowing it to be audited by the community, or modified ("forked") to make new versions or new apps. --Strypey (talk) 16:34, 20 May 2019 (UTC)

Features: what they can do

Name	Platforms supported	Text/ Audio/ Video?	Group chat	End-to-End Encrypted	Other features	# of Languages Supported
Briar	Android	text only	yes	yes	forums, blogs	?
ChatSecure	iOS	text, voicemail	yes	optional	file transfer	?
Conversations	mobile	text, voicemail, audio (?), video (?) (audio/video chat is said to work between Conversations and some other jabber apps, including Movim)	yes	optional	file transfer, message editing
Delta Chat	desktop and mobile	text, voicemail	yes	sometimes (works Delta <> Delta and with other email clients that support Autocrypt)	file transfer, image sharing	?
Jami	desktop and mobile	text, voicemail, audio, video	voice/ video only	yes	file transfer	?
Keybase	desktop and mobile	text, (audio/video?)	yes	yes	signed file storage	?
Linphone	desktop and mobile	text, audio, video	yes	in progress?	file transfer	32+ supported via Transifex
Meshenger	Android	audio	?	?	?	?
Mumble	desktop and mobile	text, audio	yes	no	?	?
qTox	desktop	text, audio, (video?)	text: yes, audio, (video?)	yes	?	?
Riot	web, mobile, desktop	text, audio, video	yes (audio and video via Jitsi Meet plug-in)	yes (as of May, 2020)	file transfer, message editing	?
Session	mobile and desktop	text, voicemail	yes	yes	file transfer	?
Signal	mobile, desktop	text, voicemail, audio, video	yes	yes	image sharing	?
Silence	Android	text, multimedia messages	?	yes	?	?
TRIfa	Android	text, audio, video	?	yes	image sharing, file transfer, video embeds	?
Wire	web, mobile, desktop	text, audio, video	yes	yes	message editing, image sharing, file transfer	?
Zom	mobile	text	yes	yes	file transfer	?

Structure: how they work

Name	License	Free Software Directory	Topology	Protocol(s) Used	Network Transport(s)
Briar	GNU GPLv3+	Listed	distributed	Tor	internet, wifi, bluetooth
ChatSecure	GNU GPLv3+	Mentioned	federated	XMPP	internet
Conversations	GNU GPLv3	https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Conversations.im	federated	XMPP, MUC, OMEMO, PGP	internet
Delta Chat	MPL (core), GPL (most apps), unclear (iThing app)	?	federated	IMAP (email), Autocrypt	internet
Jami	GNU GPLv3+	Listed	distributed	SIP	internet
Keybase	Modified BSD		?	centralized	internet
Linphone	core library: GNU GPLv3, desktop, Windows 10, iOS clients: GPLv2, Android client: GNU GPLv3, flexisip server: GNU AGPL	Listed	centralized	SIP, LIME	internet
Meshenger	GNU GPLv3	?	distributed	IOTA	local network, community network (internet?)
Mumble	Modified BSD	Listed	centralized	Own protocol, UDP	internet
qTox	GNU GPLv3	Mentioned	distributed	Tox	internet
Riot	Apache 2.0	Under review	federated	Matrix	internet
Session	clients: GNU GPLv3	?	hybrid (mostly distributed, but public groups are federated)	Loki blockchain	internet
Signal	clients: GNU GPLv3, server: GNU AGPLv3	Listed	centralized	Signal	internet
Silence	GPLv3	?	federated	SMS, MMS	GSM
TRIfa	GNU GPLv2	?	distributed	Tox, Tor (with Orbot)	internet
Wire	GNU GPLv3 (clients) / AGPLv3 (server)	Listed	centralized (federation is planned)	Proteus (own protocol) for text, DTLS and SRTP for voice	internet
Zom	Android: Apache 2.0, iOS ?		federated	Matrix	internet

Notes on Network Topology

Network topology terms are used in the table above as follows:

Centralized: all connections between user apps must be made through a server (or cluster of servers) controlled by one operator.
Federated: all connections between user apps must be made through servers, but users can still communicate even if they are connected to separate servers, controlled by different operators.
Distributed: all connections are made directly between user apps, with no servers required.

A "distributed" network is commonly referred to as a "P2P" (peer-to-peer) network, or sometimes a "mesh" network. "Federated", as used here, is often referred to as "decentralized", following a convention established by the famous network topology diagram from Paul Paran's 1964 paper 'Centralized, Decentralized and Distributed networks'. However, in political writing, the term "decentralized" has commonly been used to refer to both networks of organizations, and networks of peers, while the term "federation" only applies to networks of organizations. --Strypey (talk) 13:50, 28 October 2019 (UTC)

Further notes on apps

Briar	adding contacts requires in-person scanning of QR codes or sending special URLs
Keybase	acquired by Zoom in 2020
Session	a fork of Signal using a blockchain in place of a central server. Doesn't require a phone number to create an account, unlike Signal. Private "closed groups" can be up to 10 users, larger groups are public "open groups".
Silence	a fork of TextSecure - the app that later became the Android client for Signal - keeping only the support for SMS text messages and MMS multimedia messages.
Zom	began as updated version of the old ChatSecure for Android code, using XMPP, but later moved to the Matrix protocol. The blog piece at that link describes a plan to begin a new ChatSecure for Android, as a fork of Conversations, making it also an XMPP client, but this effort was abandoned

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Most people are familiar with proprietary chat apps like Skype, FaceTime, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Hangouts, WeChat, and so on. Chat apps differ from email in that they are designed mainly for use by two or more people who are online at the same time, having a back-and-forth conversation made up of short messages (1 or 2 sentences at a time). Most modern chat apps also support voice and video calling and voice mail. This page has information about chat apps whose code is available as a commons, under a [[Free Software|free software]] license, allowing it to be audited by the community, or modified ("forked") to make new versions or new apps.
+Most people are familiar with proprietary chat apps like Skype, FaceTime, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Hangouts, WeChat, and so on. Chat apps differ from email in that they are designed mainly for use by two or more people having a back-and-forth conversation made up of short messages (usually 1 or 2 sentences at a time), and often online at the same time. Most modern chat apps also support voice and video calling, and voice mail. This page has information about chat apps whose code is available as a commons, under a [[Free Software|free software]] license, allowing it to be audited by the community, or modified ("forked") to make new versions or new apps.
 --[[User:Strypey|Strypey]] ([[User talk:Strypey|talk]]) 16:34, 20 May 2019 (UTC)
 == Features: what they can do ==
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
 |-
-! Name !! Platforms supported !! Text/ Voice/ Video? !! Group chat !! End-to-End Encrypted !! Other features !! languages supported
+! Name !! Platforms supported !! Text/ Audio/ Video? !! Group chat !! End-to-End Encrypted !! Other features !! # of Languages Supported
 |-
 | [https://www.briarproject.org Briar] || Android || text only || yes || yes || forums, blogs || ?
 |-
-| [https://chatsecure.org/ ChatSecure] || iOS || text || yes || optional || voice mail, file transfer || ?
+| [https://chatsecure.org/ ChatSecure] || iOS || text, voicemail || yes || optional || file transfer || ?
 |-
-| [https://conversations.im/ Conversations] || mobile || text, (voice messages) || yes || optional || file transfer, short voice mails, message editing || ?
+| [https://conversations.im/ Conversations] || mobile || text, voicemail, audio (?), video (?) (audio/video chat is said to work between Conversations and some other jabber apps, including Movim) || yes || optional || file transfer, message editing ||
 |-
-| [https://jami.net Jami] || desktop and mobile || text, audio, video || voice/ video only || yes || none || ?
+| [https://delta.chat/ Delta Chat] || desktop and mobile || text, voicemail || yes || sometimes (works Delta <> Delta and with other email clients that support Autocrypt) || file transfer, image sharing || ?
+|-
+| [https://jami.net Jami] || desktop and mobile || text, voicemail, audio, video || voice/ video only || yes || file transfer || ?
 |-
 | [https://keybase.io/ Keybase] || desktop and mobile || text, (audio/video?) || yes || yes || signed file storage || ?
 |-
-| [https://www.linphone.org/ Linphone] || desktop and mobile || text, audio, video || yes || [https://www.linphone.org/news/end-end-encryption-1-1-and-group-instant-messaging in progress]? || file-sharing || ?
+| [https://www.linphone.org/ Linphone] || desktop and mobile || text, audio, video || yes || [https://www.linphone.org/news/end-end-encryption-1-1-and-group-instant-messaging in progress]? || file transfer || [https://www.transifex.com/belledonne-communications/public/ 32+ supported via Transifex]
+|-
+| [https://f-droid.org/en/packages/d.d.meshenger/ Meshenger] || Android || audio || ? || ? || ? || ?
+|-
+| [https://www.mumble.info/ Mumble] || desktop and mobile || text, audio || yes || no || ? || ?
 |-
-| [https://www.mumble.info/ Mumble] || desktop and mobile || text, audio || yes || No || ? || ?
+| [https://qtox.github.io/ qTox] || desktop || text, audio, (video?) || text: yes, audio, (video?) || yes || ? || ?
 |-
-| [https://qtox.github.io/ qTox] || desktop || text, audio, (video?) || text: yes (audio/video?) || yes || ? || ?
+| [https://riot.im/ Riot ] || web, mobile, desktop || text, audio, video || yes (audio and video via Jitsi Meet plug-in) || yes ([https://matrix.org/blog/2020/05/06/cross-signing-and-end-to-end-encryption-by-default-is-here as of May, 2020]) || file transfer, message editing || ?
 |-
-| [https://riot.im/ Riot ] || web, mobile, desktop || text, audio, video || yes (audio and video via Jitsi Meet plug-in) || optional ([https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/6779 for now]) || file transfer || ?
+| [https://getsession.org/ Session] || mobile and desktop || text, voicemail || yes || yes || file transfer || ?
 |-
-| [http://signal.org/ Signal] || mobile, desktop || text, audio, video || yes || yes || image sharing, voice mails || ?
+| [http://signal.org/ Signal] || mobile, desktop || text, voicemail, audio, video || yes || yes || image sharing || ?
 |-
 | [http://silence.im/ Silence] || Android || text, multimedia messages || ? || yes || ? || ?
@@ Line 31: / Line 39: @@
 | [https://github.com/zoff99/ToxAndroidRefImpl TRIfa] || Android || text, audio, video || ? || yes || image sharing, file transfer, video embeds || ?
 |-
-| [https://www.wire.com/ Wire] || web, mobile, desktop || text, audio, video || yes ||  yes || message editing, image-sharing, file transfer || ?
+| [https://www.wire.com/ Wire] || web, mobile, desktop || text, audio, video || yes ||  yes || message editing, image sharing, file transfer || ?
 |-
 | [https://zom.im/ Zom] || mobile || text || yes || yes || file transfer || ?
@@ Line 37: / Line 45: @@
 == Structure: how they work ==
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
 |-
 ! Name !! License !! Free Software Directory !! Topology !! Protocol(s) Used !! Network Transport(s)
@@ Line 45: / Line 54: @@
 | [https://chatsecure.org/ ChatSecure] || [https://github.com/ChatSecure/ChatSecure-iOS/blob/master/LICENSE GNU GPLv3+] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Collection:IOS Mentioned] || federated || XMPP || internet
 |-
-| [https://conversations.im/ Conversations] || [https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/blob/master/LICENSE GNU GPLv3] || || federated || XMPP, MUC, OMEMO, PGP || internet
+| [https://conversations.im/ Conversations] || [https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/blob/master/LICENSE GNU GPLv3] || https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Conversations.im || federated || XMPP, MUC, OMEMO, PGP || internet
+|-
+| [https://delta.chat/ Delta Chat] || [https://github.com/deltachat/  MPL (core), GPL (most apps), unclear (iThing app)] || ? || federated || IMAP (email), Autocrypt || internet
 |-
 | [https://jami.net Jami] || [https://git.jami.net/savoirfairelinux/ring-project/blob/master/COPYING GNU GPLv3+] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Jami Listed] || distributed || SIP || internet
@@ Line 52: / Line 63: @@
 |-
 | [https://www.linphone.org/ Linphone] || core library: [https://gitlab.linphone.org/BC/public/linphone/blob/master/LICENSE.txt GNU GPLv3], desktop, Windows 10, iOS clients: [https://gitlab.linphone.org/BC/public/linphone-desktop/blob/master/LICENSE.txt GPLv2], Android client: [https://gitlab.linphone.org/BC/public/linphone-android/blob/master/LICENSE.txt GNU GPLv3], flexisip server: [https://gitlab.linphone.org/BC/public/flexisip/blob/master/COPYING GNU AGPL] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Linphone#tab=Details Listed] || centralized || SIP, LIME || internet
+|-
+| [https://github.com/meshenger-app/meshenger-android Meshenger] || [https://github.com/meshenger-app/meshenger-android/blob/master/LICENSE GNU GPLv3] || ? || distributed || IOTA || local network, community network (internet?)
 |-
 | [https://www.mumble.info/ Mumble] || [https://github.com/mumble-voip/mumble/blob/master/LICENSE Modified BSD] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Mumble#tab=Details Listed] || centralized || [https://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Protocol Own protocol], UDP || internet
@@ Line 57: / Line 70: @@
 | [https://qtox.github.io/ qTox] || [https://github.com/qTox/qTox/blob/master/LICENSE GNU GPLv3] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Collection:GNU/Linux Mentioned] || distributed || Tox || internet
 |-
-| [http://signal.org/ Signal] || clients: [https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/blob/development/LICENSE GNU GPLv3], server: [https://github.com/signalapp/ContactDiscoveryService/blob/master/LICENSE GNU AGPLv3] || || centralized || Signal || internet
+| [https://riot.im/ Riot ] || [https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/blob/master/LICENSE Apache 2.0] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Review:Riot.im-REV-ID-1 Under review] || federated || Matrix || internet
+|-
+| [https://getsession.org/ Session] || clients: [https://github.com/loki-project/session-desktop/blob/clearnet/LICENSE GNU GPLv3] || ? || hybrid (mostly distributed, but public groups are federated) || Loki blockchain || internet
 |-
-| [http://silence.im/ Silence] || [https://github.com/SilenceIM/Silence/blob/master/LICENSE GPLv3] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Signal#tab=Details Listed] || federated || SMS, MMS || GSM
+| [http://signal.org/ Signal] || clients: [https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/blob/development/LICENSE GNU GPLv3], server: [https://github.com/signalapp/ContactDiscoveryService/blob/master/LICENSE GNU AGPLv3] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Signal#tab=Details Listed] || centralized || Signal || internet
 |-
-| [https://riot.im/ Riot ] || [https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/blob/master/LICENSE Apache 2.0] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Review:Riot.im-REV-ID-1 Under review] || federated || Matrix || internet
+| [http://silence.im/ Silence] || [https://github.com/SilenceIM/Silence/blob/master/LICENSE GPLv3] || ? || federated || SMS, MMS || GSM
 |-
-| [https://github.com/zoff99/ToxAndroidRefImpl TRIfa] || [https://github.com/zoff99/ToxAndroidRefImpl/blob/zoff99/dev003/LICENSE GNU GPLv2] || || distributed || Tox, Tor (with Orbot) || internet
+| [https://github.com/zoff99/ToxAndroidRefImpl TRIfa] || [https://github.com/zoff99/ToxAndroidRefImpl/blob/zoff99/dev003/LICENSE GNU GPLv2] || ? || distributed || Tox, Tor (with Orbot) || internet
 |-
 | [https://www.wire.com/ Wire] || [https://github.com/wireapp/wire-webapp/blob/dev/LICENSE GNU GPLv3 (clients)] / [https://github.com/wireapp/wire-server/blob/develop/LICENSE AGPLv3 (server)] || [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Wire#tab=Details Listed] || centralized ([https://github.com/wireapp/wire-server/issues/631 federation is planned]) || [https://github.com/wireapp/proteus Proteus] (own protocol) for text, DTLS and SRTP for voice || internet
@@ Line 69: / Line 84: @@
 | [https://zom.im/ Zom] || [https://github.com/zom/zom-android-matrix/blob/master/LICENSE Android: Apache 2.0], iOS ? || || federated || Matrix || internet
 |}
+=== Notes on Network Topology ===
+Network topology terms are used in the table above as follows:
+* '''Centralized''': all connections between user apps must be made through a server (or cluster of servers) controlled by one operator.
+* '''Federated''': all connections between user apps must be made through servers, but users can still communicate even if they are connected to separate servers, controlled by different operators.
+* '''Distributed''': all connections are made directly between user apps, with no servers required.
+A "distributed" network is commonly referred to as a "P2P" (peer-to-peer) network, or sometimes a "mesh" network. "Federated", as used here, is often referred to as "decentralized", following a convention established by the famous network topology diagram from [https://hi-project.org/the-technology/ Paul Paran's 1964 paper 'Centralized, Decentralized and Distributed networks']. However, in political writing, the term "decentralized" has commonly been used to refer to both networks of organizations, and networks of peers, while the term "federation" only applies to networks of organizations. --[[User:Strypey|Strypey]] ([[User talk:Strypey|talk]]) 13:50, 28 October 2019 (UTC)
 == Further notes on apps ==
 {| class="wikitable"
 |-
-| Briar ||  adding contacts requires in-person scanning of QR codes
+| Briar ||  adding contacts requires in-person scanning of QR codes or sending special URLs
+|-
+| Keybase || [https://keybase.io/blog/keybase-joins-zoom acquired by Zoom in 2020]
+|-
+| Session || a fork of Signal using a blockchain in place of a central server. Doesn't require a phone number to create an account, unlike Signal. Private "closed groups" can be up to 10 users, larger groups are public "open groups".
 |-
 | Silence || a fork of TextSecure - the app that later became the Android client for Signal - keeping only the support for SMS text messages and MMS multimedia messages.
@@ Line 82: / Line 110: @@
 == See also ==
 * [[Free code chat software]] - an overview of audio and video chat software
+* [https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Category/Live-communications Free Software Directory - Chat Category]
 * [https://www.privacytools.io/software/real-time-communication/ PrivacyTools.io chat app guide]
 * F-Droid: Aims to offer a complete collection of Android apps that can be built from free code with no proprietary dependencies. Other chat clients they list: https://search.f-droid.org/?q=chat
+* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_instant_messaging_clients Wikipedia - comparison table of chat apps]
 [[Category:P2P Infrastructure]]
 [[Category:Free Software]]
 [[Category:Technology]]

Free Code Chat Apps: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:11, 16 September 2020

Contents

Features: what they can do

Structure: how they work

Notes on Network Topology

Further notes on apps

See also

Navigation menu