{"slug": "matrix", "name": "Matrix", "category": "communication", "category_name": "Email and chat", "description": "Open, federated protocol and network for decentralized real-time chat, used through clients like Element.", "recommenders": 14, "commenters": 38, "warners": 16, "score": -0.349, "rising": -0.6, "first": "2025-11-02", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "Valued as an open-source, federated chat system that is simple to self-host for teams and communities, up to hundreds of users.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 14, "neutral": 7, "compare": 2, "warn": 16}, "spark": [3, 0, 0, 4, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2], "listed": true, "loved": ["Easy self-hosting", "Open and federated"], "caveat": "Rough UX", "short_quote": "That's why we ditched Slack for Matrix. Slack is hopelessly locked down and tedious to deal with. Matrix is super easy for this.", "icon": true, "domain": "matrix.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://matrix.org/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Matrix"], "verdict": [{"text": "Valued as an open-source, federated chat system", "cites": [{"id": 800716688, "item_id": 50044793, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50044793", "by": "jeroenhd", "date": "2026-10-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "excerpt": "I've been using it for years now, it's working just fine for me. It's no Discord or WhatsApp just yet, but it's lacking about a couple hundred million dollars of investment for that to happen to any open source chat solution. I'll happily move over to XMPP or IRCv4 if they can get it right, I'm not married to the way Matrix does things. But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "context": "has used it for years", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "IRCv3"}, {"id": 751171248, "item_id": 46948203, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46948203", "by": "notepad0x90", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think it's a great system, it's perfect for government systems too.", "excerpt": "There is this phenomena where users of a product say they want something. But what they want is very different. People are not good at telling you what really matters to them. That's the main obstacle of Matrix's adaption I think. Matrix tries to copy-cat all these other products. But in the end it feels like something trying to be all sorts of things and not quite doing it as well as the originals in every way. Plus", "context": "", "use_case": "government messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT"}, {"id": 751710704, "item_id": 46981919, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46981919", "by": "iwontberude", "date": "2026-02-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it.", "excerpt": "My community (30 members or so) of hackers switched to Matrix last October because we were expecting draconian policy which would attempt to unmask and chronicle our members identities and sentiments. We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it. Not a plug per se, but we host our international community members content out of Germany using federated.computer. In recent days people ", "context": "runs a community of about 30 hackers", "use_case": "community chat", "switched_from": "Discord", "story": "Discord Alternatives"}]}, {"text": " that is simple to self-host for teams and communities, up to hundreds of users.", "cites": [{"id": 792035744, "item_id": 49502234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502234", "by": "Neikius", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community.", "excerpt": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community. It is slightly more involved for regular users though so that is not the best but otherwise works. Setting up your own federated instance is quite simple, there is an Ansible playbook around to make it even easier. You could even isolate it and have it only for your org. From what I know there is some traction to get it adopted in a bunch", "context": "runs a Matrix server for a small community", "use_case": "federated messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "European Commission Revives Push for Encryption Backdoors in ProtectEU Strategy"}, {"id": 786120848, "item_id": 49132553, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132553", "by": "pelasaco", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Long live to Matrix/Element!", "excerpt": "said that, i manage a matrix instance in my company for more than 500 users, and everything works just fine. I like their device authorization models, their stack is easy to maintain and update. Everything works flawless. I used to maintain rocket chat in the same order of magnitude and it was a mess. I deploy it in Kubernetes + Authentik and I am pretty happy with the results. Long live to Matrix/Element!", "context": "manages Matrix instance for 500+ users at company", "use_case": "company chat for 500+ users", "switched_from": "Rocket.Chat", "story": "A Week in Matrix"}, {"id": 761091296, "item_id": 47568206, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568206", "by": "Bockit", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we moved from slack to self-hosted matrix + element", "excerpt": "It\u2019s such a fun time to have 1+ decade(s) of experience in software. Knowing what simple and good are (for me), and being able to articulate it has let me create so much personal software for myself and my family. It has really felt like turning ideas into reality, about as fast as I can think of them or they can suggest them. And adding specific features, just for our needs. The latest one was a slack canvas replace", "context": "software developer with 10+ years experience, builds personal software for family", "use_case": "family chat", "switched_from": "Slack", "story": "Coding Agents Could Make Free Software Matter Again"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is a rough, confusing user experience that is hard to explain to non-technical friends", "cites": [{"id": 782383936, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "self-hosted Matrix", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 751294001, "item_id": 46955875, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46955875", "by": "thefz", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "excerpt": "There is zero chance that the target users for Discord is going to try anything more complicated than Discord, so basically all the entries in this list. I recoil in horror thinking about me explaining Matrix even to the most tech savvy friends I use Discord with and I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "context": "", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 737733713, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}]}, {"text": ", with others reporting slow, buggy clients.", "cites": [{"id": 735831392, "item_id": 45989462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989462", "by": "kogasa240p", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess.", "excerpt": "Haven't used matrix for a few years now, last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess. >device verification Kinda weird because it's a protocol, but then again matrix is extremely centralized.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 751132658, "item_id": 46945791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945791", "by": "jszymborski", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix", "excerpt": "So my friend group has been looking for alternatives for a while now that feel like discord, works on mobile and desktop, and has voice chat. I use Signal but the UI is very different from Discord. I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix, Element keeps crashing on mobile, and while voice chat kinda exists in Element it's not been great imho. I looked into hosting Rocket.chat, Zullip, and Mattermost but ", "context": "looking for Discord alternative for friend group", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 735878640, "item_id": 45992415, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45992415", "by": "kuon", "date": "2025-11-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really want to love matrix but it always turned bad/broken at some point.", "excerpt": "I really want to love matrix but it always turned bad/broken at some point. I switched to XMPP. No issue ever, but the clients are not very good.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Easy self-hosting", "summary": "Admins say running their own server is simple and low-maintenance, from small groups to 500+ users.", "quotes": [{"id": 786120848, "item_id": 49132553, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132553", "by": "pelasaco", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Long live to Matrix/Element!", "excerpt": "said that, i manage a matrix instance in my company for more than 500 users, and everything works just fine. I like their device authorization models, their stack is easy to maintain and update. Everything works flawless. I used to maintain rocket chat in the same order of magnitude and it was a mess. I deploy it in Kubernetes + Authentik and I am pretty happy with the results. Long live to Matrix/Element!", "context": "manages Matrix instance for 500+ users at company", "use_case": "company chat for 500+ users", "switched_from": "Rocket.Chat", "story": "A Week in Matrix"}, {"id": 792035744, "item_id": 49502234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502234", "by": "Neikius", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community.", "excerpt": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community. It is slightly more involved for regular users though so that is not the best but otherwise works. Setting up your own federated instance is quite simple, there is an Ansible playbook around to make it even easier. You could even isolate it and have it only for your org. From what I know there is some traction to get it adopted in a bunch", "context": "runs a Matrix server for a small community", "use_case": "federated messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "European Commission Revives Push for Encryption Backdoors in ProtectEU Strategy"}, {"id": 761091296, "item_id": 47568206, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568206", "by": "Bockit", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we moved from slack to self-hosted matrix + element", "excerpt": "It\u2019s such a fun time to have 1+ decade(s) of experience in software. Knowing what simple and good are (for me), and being able to articulate it has let me create so much personal software for myself and my family. It has really felt like turning ideas into reality, about as fast as I can think of them or they can suggest them. And adding specific features, just for our needs. The latest one was a slack canvas replace", "context": "software developer with 10+ years experience, builds personal software for family", "use_case": "family chat", "switched_from": "Slack", "story": "Coding Agents Could Make Free Software Matter Again"}]}, {"label": "Open and federated", "summary": "Commenters value that it is open source, federated and gives them control over their data.", "quotes": [{"id": 800716688, "item_id": 50044793, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50044793", "by": "jeroenhd", "date": "2026-10-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "excerpt": "I've been using it for years now, it's working just fine for me. It's no Discord or WhatsApp just yet, but it's lacking about a couple hundred million dollars of investment for that to happen to any open source chat solution. I'll happily move over to XMPP or IRCv4 if they can get it right, I'm not married to the way Matrix does things. But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "context": "has used it for years", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "IRCv3"}, {"id": 751710704, "item_id": 46981919, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46981919", "by": "iwontberude", "date": "2026-02-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it.", "excerpt": "My community (30 members or so) of hackers switched to Matrix last October because we were expecting draconian policy which would attempt to unmask and chronicle our members identities and sentiments. We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it. Not a plug per se, but we host our international community members content out of Germany using federated.computer. In recent days people ", "context": "runs a community of about 30 hackers", "use_case": "community chat", "switched_from": "Discord", "story": "Discord Alternatives"}, {"id": 751171248, "item_id": 46948203, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46948203", "by": "notepad0x90", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think it's a great system, it's perfect for government systems too.", "excerpt": "There is this phenomena where users of a product say they want something. But what they want is very different. People are not good at telling you what really matters to them. That's the main obstacle of Matrix's adaption I think. Matrix tries to copy-cat all these other products. But in the end it feels like something trying to be all sorts of things and not quite doing it as well as the originals in every way. Plus", "context": "", "use_case": "government messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT"}]}, {"label": "Community use", "summary": "Groups report it working well for community spaces, including video calls with many participants.", "quotes": [{"id": 735832721, "item_id": 45989545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989545", "by": "teekert", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Martix/Element", "excerpt": "I love Martix/Element, and about the only thing I don't like is that I need moar features! We have a space with several rooms for our FOSDEM devroom, it's been working flawlessly, including for all our video calls with many participants. Thanx Element team!!", "context": "organizes a FOSDEM devroom", "use_case": "FOSDEM devroom chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 792035744, "item_id": 49502234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502234", "by": "Neikius", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community.", "excerpt": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community. It is slightly more involved for regular users though so that is not the best but otherwise works. Setting up your own federated instance is quite simple, there is an Ansible playbook around to make it even easier. You could even isolate it and have it only for your org. From what I know there is some traction to get it adopted in a bunch", "context": "runs a Matrix server for a small community", "use_case": "federated messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "European Commission Revives Push for Encryption Backdoors in ProtectEU Strategy"}, {"id": 770483264, "item_id": 48155204, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48155204", "by": "unethical_ban", "date": "2026-05-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is my documentation for setting up a Matrix server for private group-chat use", "excerpt": "This is my documentation for setting up a Matrix server for private group-chat use, that also has voice/video/screen-sharing capabilities. I have validated basic use, but have not stress tested it for video/streaming quality compared to Discord. I hope this is useful for those who like the idea of having an alternative place to host communities while maintaining many of the core features of Discord. I used to like Mu", "context": "", "use_case": "private group chat with voice/video", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tuwunel \u2013 Matrix Chat and Voice/Video/Screen Conferencing for Groups"}]}, {"label": "Client choice", "summary": "Users are not stuck with Element and can pick from many clients, including Cinny and TUI options.", "quotes": [{"id": 751309122, "item_id": 46956820, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46956820", "by": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend people to check out the matrix ecosystem of clients to see what they like", "excerpt": "> Matrix \u2192 flexible but rough UX Matrix's UI/UX is actually really flexible with multiple clients. You aren't struck with Element, you can even use TUI clients or any clients. For the web, the one which I really love is cinny. Cinny is really awesome, its UI/UX is better than discord imo. I recommend people to check out the matrix ecosystem of clients to see what they like, because I also liked the fractal gnu app & ", "context": "", "use_case": "chat protocol", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 737351360, "item_id": 46084460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084460", "by": "ycombinatrix", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Take one of the Matrix clients and swap out the backend?", "excerpt": "Take one of the Matrix clients and swap out the backend?", "context": "", "use_case": "white-label chat app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: White Label Chat Apps?"}]}, {"label": "No phone required", "summary": "One user preferred it to Signal because it does not require a phone or phone number.", "quotes": [{"id": 737357457, "item_id": 46084841, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "by": "SigUp91", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It seems much better in this regard - it's not mobile first and it doesn't require ongoing access to a phone number.", "excerpt": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app. I had to live without a phone for about a year. First my phone broke and I couldn't repair it or buy a new one, then I lost my phone number due to unpaid fees. I kept using the Linux Electron app, updating it as often as possible. I saw this message on the Linux app after a whi", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "use_case": "messaging without a phone number", "switched_from": "Signal", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Rough UX", "summary": "Many find the UI/UX poor and too complicated for typical users.", "quotes": [{"id": 782383936, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "self-hosted Matrix", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 751294001, "item_id": 46955875, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46955875", "by": "thefz", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "excerpt": "There is zero chance that the target users for Discord is going to try anything more complicated than Discord, so basically all the entries in this list. I recoil in horror thinking about me explaining Matrix even to the most tech savvy friends I use Discord with and I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "context": "", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 737733713, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}]}, {"label": "Slow and buggy", "summary": "Some report slow, bloated software, crashes on mobile and things breaking over time.", "quotes": [{"id": 782383936, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "self-hosted Matrix", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 735831392, "item_id": 45989462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989462", "by": "kogasa240p", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess.", "excerpt": "Haven't used matrix for a few years now, last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess. >device verification Kinda weird because it's a protocol, but then again matrix is extremely centralized.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 751132658, "item_id": 46945791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945791", "by": "jszymborski", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix", "excerpt": "So my friend group has been looking for alternatives for a while now that feel like discord, works on mobile and desktop, and has voice chat. I use Signal but the UI is very different from Discord. I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix, Element keeps crashing on mobile, and while voice chat kinda exists in Element it's not been great imho. I looked into hosting Rocket.chat, Zullip, and Mattermost but ", "context": "looking for Discord alternative for friend group", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}]}, {"label": "Encryption friction", "summary": "Key management and verification are confusing, and some cite unresolved cryptography issues.", "quotes": [{"id": 772439345, "item_id": 48277459, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48277459", "by": "MrClouds", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is well known for having lingering issues in its cryptography implementations", "excerpt": "Hi HN, I'm the dev behind Hush. The story of this project goes back more than a couple of years, but I'll cut it short. Me and my friends built this because we wanted a self-hosted, private alternative to Discord and Slack. Current platforms like Matrix didn\u2019t cut it for us. Matrix is well known for having lingering issues in its cryptography implementations that haven't been fully addressed yet (read https://soatok.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Hush \u2013 A self-hostable, OpenMLS Discord alternative written in Go"}, {"id": 737733713, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}, {"id": 735834800, "item_id": 45989675, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989675", "by": "adham-omran", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "notifications were beyond broken and we moved to Zulip, verification and authentication were also very funky", "excerpt": "Last time I used Matrix for our internal team notifications were beyond broken and we moved to Zulip, verification and authentication were also very funky at the time, I don't dare to try it again.", "context": "team chat admin", "use_case": "internal team chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}]}, {"label": "Bot integration", "summary": "Strict end-to-end encryption and edit limits make running bots awkward.", "quotes": [{"id": 783942913, "item_id": 48996432, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48996432", "by": "jillesvangurp", "date": "2026-07-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "It's nice but a bit too strict on end to end encryption which gets in the way if you actually want to share information with bots.", "excerpt": "Bots in team chat is not a bad idea. I've been experimenting with that for a few months. We started with Slack. This kind of works but dialing in the gazillion of permissions needed to end up with something that works is a bit painful. And you have to do this over and over again for each new bot. So, we started experimenting with self hosted alternatives. First we tried Matrix. It's nice but a bit too strict on end t", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted chat with bots", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jack Dorsey launches Buzz to combine team chat, AI agents and Git hosting"}, {"id": 781337728, "item_id": 48833608, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48833608", "by": "npodbielski", "date": "2026-07-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "running it with bots is a bit convoluted", "excerpt": "Ah mobile app is not ready yet. I am looking for some alternative to matrix because running it with bots is a bit convoluted, i.e. you have to have limit of edits of message for model streaming or you will kill entire room. Or I never seen robots in matrix sending encrypted messages. Why bother than? Anyway if mobile will be a thing this seems like perfect thing to have for your family and friends.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat with bots", "switched_from": "", "story": "Chatto is now Open Source"}]}, {"label": "Resource costs", "summary": "Self-hosting can be costly in compute, storage or money compared with alternatives.", "quotes": [{"id": 742025921, "item_id": 46376620, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46376620", "by": "xiaomai", "date": "2025-12-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The computational/storage costs for Matrix really were way too burdensome though.", "excerpt": "Several years ago I was looking for something to use as a family chat server. Many of my friends/coworkers were using Slack/etc., but since my immediate family members didn't already have a preferred chat app, I was hoping to self-host something open-source. Matrix was under very active development at the time and I was pretty excited about the prospect of using it. Matrix didn't even have E2EE yet (I think it was un", "context": "self-hosting a family chat server", "use_case": "self-hosted family chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "We Abandoned Matrix: The Dark Truth About User Security and Safety (2024)"}, {"id": 751710704, "item_id": 46981919, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46981919", "by": "iwontberude", "date": "2026-02-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it.", "excerpt": "My community (30 members or so) of hackers switched to Matrix last October because we were expecting draconian policy which would attempt to unmask and chronicle our members identities and sentiments. We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it. Not a plug per se, but we host our international community members content out of Germany using federated.computer. In recent days people ", "context": "runs a community of about 30 hackers", "use_case": "community chat", "switched_from": "Discord", "story": "Discord Alternatives"}]}, {"label": "Spam exposure", "summary": "One user deleted their account after receiving nasty spam via public room member lists.", "quotes": [{"id": 751114273, "item_id": 46944642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46944642", "by": "Buxato", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I deleted my matrix account after I receive some very nasty spam", "excerpt": "I deleted my matrix account after I receive some very nasty spam in form of Element Android notification. I think it wasn't Matrix direct fault, but as I used some Matrix chat groups and the list of member was public .. But I got really alarmed and angry when I receive so disgusting spam.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat groups", "switched_from": "", "story": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT"}]}], "who": [{"by": "lrvick", "context": "digital minimalist, self-hosts almost everything", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318628", "date": "2026-10-31"}, {"by": "jeroenhd", "context": "has used it for years", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50044793", "date": "2026-10-11"}, {"by": "Neikius", "context": "runs a Matrix server for a small community", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502234", "date": "2026-08-30"}, {"by": "pkulak", "context": "runs agents for household management", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49179416", "date": "2026-08-04"}, {"by": "pelasaco", "context": "manages Matrix instance for 500+ users at company", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132553", "date": "2026-08-01"}, {"by": "Bockit", "context": "software developer with 10+ years experience, builds personal software for family", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568206", "date": "2026-03-29"}, {"by": "fsflover", "context": "Linux phone user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47218423", "date": "2026-03-02"}, {"by": "iwontberude", "context": "runs a community of about 30 hackers", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46981919", "date": "2026-02-11"}, {"by": "toomuchtodo", "context": "in tech for 25+ years", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46904157", "date": "2026-02-05"}, {"by": "SigUp91", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "date": "2025-11-28"}, {"by": "teekert", "context": "organizes a FOSDEM devroom", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989545", "date": "2025-11-19"}, {"by": "joecool1029", "context": "runs a homeserver", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45980279", "date": "2025-11-19"}], "tags": ["self-hostable", "for teams", "for private communities", "Discord alternative", "for Linux users"], "use_cases": ["chat", "messaging", "discord alternative", "encrypted device sync", "decentralized chat", "federated messaging"], "compared": [{"slug": "discord", "name": "Discord", "co": 13, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "signal", "name": "Signal", "co": 10, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "slack", "name": "Slack", "co": 6, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "zulip", "name": "Zulip", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "element", "name": "Element", "co": 8, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "xmpp", "name": "XMPP", "co": 7, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "rocket-chat", "name": "Rocket.Chat", "co": 3, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "whatsapp", "name": "WhatsApp", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45987179", "title": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory", "mentions": 5}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46949564", "title": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50041540", "title": "IRCv3", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49130295", "title": "A Week in Matrix", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945663", "title": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46944245", "title": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT", "mentions": 2}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 2, "warn": 4, "recommend": 3}, "2025-12": {"compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 4, "recommend": 4}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"warn": 3}, "2026-08": {"warn": 2, "recommend": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"warn": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805098048, "item_id": 50318628, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318628", "by": "lrvick", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Other than email, Matrix, and online forums like this one", "excerpt": "I went down the same path starting about a decade ago with airplane mode, and deleting apps until my phone was so boring and rarely used I canceled my cell subscription about 8 years ago. Have not carried a phone at all since. I rarely carry any electronics at all and exclusively use cash in person to make me mostly digitally invisible IRL. Stopped using X and all big tech services. Google, Apple, Microsoft... even d", "context": "digital minimalist, self-hosts almost everything", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Digital minimalism"}, {"id": 801861633, "item_id": 50116352, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50116352", "by": "matthiasnehlsen", "date": "2026-10-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "synced end-to-end encrypted between your devices via Matrix", "excerpt": "Lotti is an open-source app for journaling, audio notes, photos, tasks and time tracking, synced end-to-end encrypted between your devices via Matrix. Or, if you prefer enterprise lingo, a distributed and open-source system of record for your memories. Lotti has an agentic layer where you get to pick where inference runs, including on your own device if powerful enough. Out on Linux via Flathub now (7500 downloads to", "context": "", "use_case": "encrypted device sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Lotti \u2013 Your memories, only on your devices, end-to-end encrypted"}, {"id": 801292066, "item_id": 50080754, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50080754", "by": "opan", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it does seem like Matrix gets unfairly ragged on a bit", "excerpt": "Some friends use it more reluctantly and only sign on occasionally when they need something. I remember one friend vaguely describing a \"malaise\" when using Element for the first time, like something about the UI/UX bugged him but he didn't really elaborate. I assume some of them are using other stuff like Discord on the side, but I'm not sure since I don't. I think there is also some minor friction with the whole El", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "IRCv3"}, {"id": 800716688, "item_id": 50044793, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50044793", "by": "jeroenhd", "date": "2026-10-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "excerpt": "I've been using it for years now, it's working just fine for me. It's no Discord or WhatsApp just yet, but it's lacking about a couple hundred million dollars of investment for that to happen to any open source chat solution. I'll happily move over to XMPP or IRCv4 if they can get it right, I'm not married to the way Matrix does things. But it's good enough, open source, and federated.", "context": "has used it for years", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "IRCv3"}, {"id": 798144609, "item_id": 49884038, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49884038", "by": "IceWreck", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "do everything and we cater for every possible scenario but be great at nothing like matrix", "excerpt": "I have switched to https://chatto.run/. Its actually well engineered (not vbibecoded), the devs are responsive and is kinda opinionated instead of do everything and we cater for every possible scenario but be great at nothing like matrix.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Armada: Encrypted, Open-Source, Discord Alternative (Built on Nostr)"}, {"id": 792035744, "item_id": 49502234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502234", "by": "Neikius", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community.", "excerpt": "Been using matrix for years now. Even operating a server for a small community. It is slightly more involved for regular users though so that is not the best but otherwise works. Setting up your own federated instance is quite simple, there is an Ansible playbook around to make it even easier. You could even isolate it and have it only for your org. From what I know there is some traction to get it adopted in a bunch", "context": "runs a Matrix server for a small community", "use_case": "federated messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "European Commission Revives Push for Encryption Backdoors in ProtectEU Strategy"}, {"id": 790777794, "item_id": 49423612, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423612", "by": "fishgoesblub", "date": "2026-08-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "It was a tremendous shame that Matrix didn't improve upon XMPP and instead did their own thing.", "excerpt": "I love XMPP and am hopeful for its future with what the teams behind Movim[0], and Fluux[1] are doing. It was a tremendous shame that Matrix didn't improve upon XMPP and instead did their own thing. I continuously wonder what would the XMPP ecosystem look like, if the millions of dollars of funding Matrix initially had (what a waste) went to XMPP instead? [0]: https://movim.eu/ [1]: https://github.com/processone/fluu", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence"}, {"id": 786870656, "item_id": 49179416, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49179416", "by": "pkulak", "date": "2026-08-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "though I use Matrix and only have two agents", "excerpt": "Same here, though I use Matrix and only have two agents. One for me, one for the family. They are mostly for household management tasks, but mine has an ssh key that lets it remote in to some of my servers and deal with stuff. That said, I really don\u2019t like \u201cdeveloping\u201d over chat. I\u2019d much rather wait until I\u2019m really available to inspect diffs properly and watch all the thinking and tool use, real time. https://gith", "context": "runs agents for household management", "use_case": "chat interface to agents", "switched_from": "", "story": "Pi's Minimalism Is Its Advantage"}, {"id": 786120848, "item_id": 49132553, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132553", "by": "pelasaco", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Long live to Matrix/Element!", "excerpt": "said that, i manage a matrix instance in my company for more than 500 users, and everything works just fine. I like their device authorization models, their stack is easy to maintain and update. Everything works flawless. I used to maintain rocket chat in the same order of magnitude and it was a mess. I deploy it in Kubernetes + Authentik and I am pretty happy with the results. Long live to Matrix/Element!", "context": "manages Matrix instance for 500+ users at company", "use_case": "company chat for 500+ users", "switched_from": "Rocket.Chat", "story": "A Week in Matrix"}, {"id": 786112080, "item_id": 49132005, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132005", "by": "Lerc", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "in the end it rendered itself unusable to me before I had decided to abandon it of my own volition.", "excerpt": "I used to use Matrix. Its user experience was sub par, but in the end it rendered itself unusable to me before I had decided to abandon it of my own volition. As far as I can tell it isn't so much a protocol as a collection of apps talking different protocols while claiming to use the same protocol.", "context": "former Matrix user", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "A Week in Matrix"}, {"id": 783942913, "item_id": 48996432, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48996432", "by": "jillesvangurp", "date": "2026-07-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "It's nice but a bit too strict on end to end encryption which gets in the way if you actually want to share information with bots.", "excerpt": "Bots in team chat is not a bad idea. I've been experimenting with that for a few months. We started with Slack. This kind of works but dialing in the gazillion of permissions needed to end up with something that works is a bit painful. And you have to do this over and over again for each new bot. So, we started experimenting with self hosted alternatives. First we tried Matrix. It's nice but a bit too strict on end t", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted chat with bots", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jack Dorsey launches Buzz to combine team chat, AI agents and Git hosting"}, {"id": 782383936, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "self-hosted Matrix", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 781337728, "item_id": 48833608, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48833608", "by": "npodbielski", "date": "2026-07-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "running it with bots is a bit convoluted", "excerpt": "Ah mobile app is not ready yet. I am looking for some alternative to matrix because running it with bots is a bit convoluted, i.e. you have to have limit of edits of message for model streaming or you will kill entire room. Or I never seen robots in matrix sending encrypted messages. Why bother than? Anyway if mobile will be a thing this seems like perfect thing to have for your family and friends.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat with bots", "switched_from": "", "story": "Chatto is now Open Source"}, {"id": 772469843, "item_id": 48279365, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279365", "by": "jillesvangurp", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "That's why we ditched Slack for Matrix. Slack is hopelessly locked down and tedious to deal with. Matrix is super easy for this.", "excerpt": "I've been against self hosting internal tools for a long time mainly because of the devops and other overhead. But AI based devops makes it so easy now to spin up whatever you want now that I'm reconsidering that. I use a lot of ansible for several of our deployments. At this point, most of that is managed via codex. For Git, all you technically need is ssh access and some backup strategy for your server. It would be", "context": "", "use_case": "team chat", "switched_from": "Slack", "story": "GitHub Actions down again today"}, {"id": 772439345, "item_id": 48277459, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48277459", "by": "MrClouds", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix is well known for having lingering issues in its cryptography implementations", "excerpt": "Hi HN, I'm the dev behind Hush. The story of this project goes back more than a couple of years, but I'll cut it short. Me and my friends built this because we wanted a self-hosted, private alternative to Discord and Slack. Current platforms like Matrix didn\u2019t cut it for us. Matrix is well known for having lingering issues in its cryptography implementations that haven't been fully addressed yet (read https://soatok.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Hush \u2013 A self-hostable, OpenMLS Discord alternative written in Go"}, {"id": 770483264, "item_id": 48155204, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48155204", "by": "unethical_ban", "date": "2026-05-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is my documentation for setting up a Matrix server for private group-chat use", "excerpt": "This is my documentation for setting up a Matrix server for private group-chat use, that also has voice/video/screen-sharing capabilities. I have validated basic use, but have not stress tested it for video/streaming quality compared to Discord. I hope this is useful for those who like the idea of having an alternative place to host communities while maintaining many of the core features of Discord. I used to like Mu", "context": "", "use_case": "private group chat with voice/video", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tuwunel \u2013 Matrix Chat and Voice/Video/Screen Conferencing for Groups"}, {"id": 761091296, "item_id": 47568206, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568206", "by": "Bockit", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we moved from slack to self-hosted matrix + element", "excerpt": "It\u2019s such a fun time to have 1+ decade(s) of experience in software. Knowing what simple and good are (for me), and being able to articulate it has let me create so much personal software for myself and my family. It has really felt like turning ideas into reality, about as fast as I can think of them or they can suggest them. And adding specific features, just for our needs. The latest one was a slack canvas replace", "context": "software developer with 10+ years experience, builds personal software for family", "use_case": "family chat", "switched_from": "Slack", "story": "Coding Agents Could Make Free Software Matter Again"}, {"id": 755494769, "item_id": 47218423, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47218423", "by": "fsflover", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I do not use any of them, I use Matrix.", "excerpt": "> Backups? Everything that works on desktop GNU/Linux should work on the phone, too. I use Pika Backup app. > communication AFAIK none of the apps you listed officially support Linux ARM, so you have to go through some configuration unfortunately. I do not use any of them, I use Matrix. > Signal https://forums.puri.sm/t/signal-app-now-usable-in-portrait-mode-on-l5/21278 https://framapiaf.org/@lolgzs/11301028822411006", "context": "Linux phone user", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 751710704, "item_id": 46981919, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46981919", "by": "iwontberude", "date": "2026-02-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it.", "excerpt": "My community (30 members or so) of hackers switched to Matrix last October because we were expecting draconian policy which would attempt to unmask and chronicle our members identities and sentiments. We now spend more than we did with Discord but the data sovereignty is worth it. Not a plug per se, but we host our international community members content out of Germany using federated.computer. In recent days people ", "context": "runs a community of about 30 hackers", "use_case": "community chat", "switched_from": "Discord", "story": "Discord Alternatives"}, {"id": 751497904, "item_id": 46968619, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46968619", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Matrix has been frustrating, that I can say.", "excerpt": "Don't get me wrong, I have been hearing about XMPP forever, and I would love to have an opportunity to try it. Unfortunately it hasn't happened. I have been forced to use Slack, Discord, I have had opportunities to try Matrix, Zulip, of course I have been using IRC for a long time. But XMPP? I may have installed an app, but I haven't had an opportunity to actually use it. Is there a list of communities there? Then ab", "context": "wrote own IRC client, contributed to Signal", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751309122, "item_id": 46956820, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46956820", "by": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend people to check out the matrix ecosystem of clients to see what they like", "excerpt": "> Matrix \u2192 flexible but rough UX Matrix's UI/UX is actually really flexible with multiple clients. You aren't struck with Element, you can even use TUI clients or any clients. For the web, the one which I really love is cinny. Cinny is really awesome, its UI/UX is better than discord imo. I recommend people to check out the matrix ecosystem of clients to see what they like, because I also liked the fractal gnu app & ", "context": "", "use_case": "chat protocol", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751294001, "item_id": 46955875, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46955875", "by": "thefz", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "excerpt": "There is zero chance that the target users for Discord is going to try anything more complicated than Discord, so basically all the entries in this list. I recoil in horror thinking about me explaining Matrix even to the most tech savvy friends I use Discord with and I really really hope people would stop recommending it.", "context": "", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751256609, "item_id": 46953538, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46953538", "by": "Peacefulz", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I haven't had much luck moving friends off of the platform and on to things like Matrix, or Signal yet... but I'm trying all the time.", "excerpt": "The writing has been on the wall for a while. I moved off of Discord about a year and a half ago, after they started gating long-time free features behind Nitro. Then later, I find out that nothing is encrypted in transit on their application. I haven't had much luck moving friends off of the platform and on to things like Matrix, or Signal yet... but I'm trying all the time.", "context": "", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "Discord", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 751171248, "item_id": 46948203, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46948203", "by": "notepad0x90", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think it's a great system, it's perfect for government systems too.", "excerpt": "There is this phenomena where users of a product say they want something. But what they want is very different. People are not good at telling you what really matters to them. That's the main obstacle of Matrix's adaption I think. Matrix tries to copy-cat all these other products. But in the end it feels like something trying to be all sorts of things and not quite doing it as well as the originals in every way. Plus", "context": "", "use_case": "government messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT"}, {"id": 751132658, "item_id": 46945791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945791", "by": "jszymborski", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix", "excerpt": "So my friend group has been looking for alternatives for a while now that feel like discord, works on mobile and desktop, and has voice chat. I use Signal but the UI is very different from Discord. I've had very mixed experiences with Element + Matrix, Element keeps crashing on mobile, and while voice chat kinda exists in Element it's not been great imho. I looked into hosting Rocket.chat, Zullip, and Mattermost but ", "context": "looking for Discord alternative for friend group", "use_case": "Discord alternative", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 751114273, "item_id": 46944642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46944642", "by": "Buxato", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I deleted my matrix account after I receive some very nasty spam", "excerpt": "I deleted my matrix account after I receive some very nasty spam in form of Element Android notification. I think it wasn't Matrix direct fault, but as I used some Matrix chat groups and the list of member was public .. But I got really alarmed and angry when I receive so disgusting spam.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat groups", "switched_from": "", "story": "Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT"}, {"id": 750466514, "item_id": 46904157, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46904157", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-02-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "IRC and Matrix servers for digital archiving ops", "excerpt": "I'm in several Slack teams for non profits and professional orgs, Teams for a client or two, IRC and Matrix servers for digital archiving ops, Signal/WhatsApp/GroupMe/Telegram groups, etc. I have been in tech for 25+ years, I am familiar with the extremes. You are right, things can be bad, that is the point of systems engineering: to drive directionally towards continual improvement. Success is never assured, but thr", "context": "in tech for 25+ years", "use_case": "digital archiving ops chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "European Commission Trials Matrix to Replace Teams"}, {"id": 746813395, "item_id": 46675837, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675837", "by": "TkTech", "date": "2026-01-18", "stance": "compare", "quote": "If I go with Zulip, mattermost, rocket.chat, matrix, etc I introduce maintenance overhead", "excerpt": "I might have missed it, but no mention of _where_ data is stored in the FAQ and seems critically reliant on Cloudflare. In a changing world, what's the selling point for those outside of the USA? Why would our company pick this over self-hosting when our country is threatened with American annexation almost weekly? If I go with Zulip, mattermost, rocket.chat, matrix, etc I introduce maintenance overhead but I don't h", "context": "company outside the USA needing business continuity", "use_case": "self-hosted company chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Dock \u2013 Slack minus the bloat, tax, and 90-day memory loss"}, {"id": 742025921, "item_id": 46376620, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46376620", "by": "xiaomai", "date": "2025-12-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The computational/storage costs for Matrix really were way too burdensome though.", "excerpt": "Several years ago I was looking for something to use as a family chat server. Many of my friends/coworkers were using Slack/etc., but since my immediate family members didn't already have a preferred chat app, I was hoping to self-host something open-source. Matrix was under very active development at the time and I was pretty excited about the prospect of using it. Matrix didn't even have E2EE yet (I think it was un", "context": "self-hosting a family chat server", "use_case": "self-hosted family chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "We Abandoned Matrix: The Dark Truth About User Security and Safety (2024)"}, {"id": 737733713, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}, {"id": 737357457, "item_id": 46084841, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "by": "SigUp91", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It seems much better in this regard - it's not mobile first and it doesn't require ongoing access to a phone number.", "excerpt": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app. I had to live without a phone for about a year. First my phone broke and I couldn't repair it or buy a new one, then I lost my phone number due to unpaid fees. I kept using the Linux Electron app, updating it as often as possible. I saw this message on the Linux app after a whi", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "use_case": "messaging without a phone number", "switched_from": "Signal", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 737351360, "item_id": 46084460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084460", "by": "ycombinatrix", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Take one of the Matrix clients and swap out the backend?", "excerpt": "Take one of the Matrix clients and swap out the backend?", "context": "", "use_case": "white-label chat app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: White Label Chat Apps?"}, {"id": 735932912, "item_id": 45995807, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45995807", "by": "wkat4242", "date": "2025-11-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I loved Matrix but I'm starting to hate the way they force these things through.", "excerpt": "Ugh.. I loved Matrix but I'm starting to hate the way they force these things through. Also last month they removed the categories (People, Rooms, Favourites) from Element Web just like that. Making it very hard to use as I use it. I had to roll back to an older version. They seem to be focused on whatever commercial or consumer experience but they are ruining it for power users. My matrix server isn't even publicly ", "context": "runs a private non-federated Matrix server with bridge bots", "use_case": "self-hosted chat with bridges", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 735878640, "item_id": 45992415, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45992415", "by": "kuon", "date": "2025-11-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really want to love matrix but it always turned bad/broken at some point.", "excerpt": "I really want to love matrix but it always turned bad/broken at some point. I switched to XMPP. No issue ever, but the clients are not very good.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 735834800, "item_id": 45989675, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989675", "by": "adham-omran", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "notifications were beyond broken and we moved to Zulip, verification and authentication were also very funky", "excerpt": "Last time I used Matrix for our internal team notifications were beyond broken and we moved to Zulip, verification and authentication were also very funky at the time, I don't dare to try it again.", "context": "team chat admin", "use_case": "internal team chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 735832721, "item_id": 45989545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989545", "by": "teekert", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Martix/Element", "excerpt": "I love Martix/Element, and about the only thing I don't like is that I need moar features! We have a space with several rooms for our FOSDEM devroom, it's been working flawlessly, including for all our video calls with many participants. Thanx Element team!!", "context": "organizes a FOSDEM devroom", "use_case": "FOSDEM devroom chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 735831392, "item_id": 45989462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989462", "by": "kogasa240p", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess.", "excerpt": "Haven't used matrix for a few years now, last time I used it everything was a slow, buggy mess. >device verification Kinda weird because it's a protocol, but then again matrix is extremely centralized.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}, {"id": 735684465, "item_id": 45980279, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45980279", "by": "joecool1029", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I bridge signal to matrix on my homeserver", "excerpt": "> That or something like Matrix, although I use Signal myself. I bridge signal to matrix on my homeserver using signal-mautrix: https://github.com/mautrix/signal This allows me to use different phones without going through transfer/wipe. Still needs a primary device though, which was the iPhone until yesterday.", "context": "runs a homeserver", "use_case": "self-hosted messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "I just want working RCS messaging"}, {"id": 732652784, "item_id": 45790799, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45790799", "by": "gagik_co", "date": "2025-11-02", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "adopting it (even partially) was/is a big mess", "excerpt": "My app is for chat-based notes[1] and I have been wanting E2E local-first sync on it for a while. Switched from Realm to SQLite after it was deprecated but never found a good non-niche DB SDK for it on Flutter. Tried to handroll sync + AES-GCM encryption with Supabase Realtime and it kind of worked but I knew managing encryption was going to be hell and also wanted collaboration features. Matrix was built for chat, a", "context": "builds a chat-based notes app", "use_case": "E2E local-first sync for notes app", "switched_from": "Supabase Realtime", "story": "SwirlDB: Modular-first, CRDT-based embedded database"}]}