{"slug": "monal", "name": "Monal", "category": "communication", "category_name": "Email and chat", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 4.137, "rising": 1.35, "first": "2026-02-09", "latest": "2026-09-14", "why": "I recommend using Monal as an iOS client instead of the Snikket iOS one.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I recommend using Monal as an iOS client instead of the Snikket iOS one.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "monal-im.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://monal-im.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Monal"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 795184928, "item_id": 49699058, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49699058", "by": "jkxyz", "date": "2026-09-14", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Last time I used Monal on iOS this was solved and worked well.", "excerpt": "If you're talking about the push notifications experience, then XEP-0357 solves this, but app developers have to host the infrastructure which the XMPP server calls back to and dispatches the notifications to Apple or Google. Last time I used Monal on iOS this was solved and worked well. On Android I think most apps still prefer to keep their own background connection open. https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0357.html", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP client on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 790886546, "item_id": 49430409, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49430409", "by": "rtpg", "date": "2026-08-25", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "stuff like Monal \"basically work\" for text + images + chat rooms.", "excerpt": "I was generally \"Matrix feels right\" but I read through [0] and other discussions and I think that Matrix's E2E focus + way of duplicating everything just means that it suffers a lot of scalability issues that \"plain old Jabber\" won't have. now Jabber has client issues, but stuff like Monal \"basically work\" for text + images + chat rooms. I'm excited for Fluux. You can of course set up one of the random web clients. ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence"}, {"id": 752593296, "item_id": 47037081, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037081", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-16", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend using Monal as an iOS client instead of the Snikket iOS one.", "excerpt": "You're supposed to self-host it (or rent a hosted instance). But rather than having open registration (or creating accounts beforehand and sending the credentials), you generate invites and send them to your contacts. The invites onboard the users to install the app. The Snikket client works with any XMPP server, and the Snikket server works with any XMPP client. The Snikket clients are soft forks of existing clients", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP iOS client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 751350080, "item_id": 46959380, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959380", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have had success getting apple-loving friends to use", "excerpt": "I have had success getting apple-loving friends to use https://monal-im.org/ https://snikket.org/ are working on a new iOS client too (no release so far).", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751322496, "item_id": 46957656, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46957656", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "https://monal-im.org/ is my personal recommendation for iOS.", "excerpt": "https://monal-im.org/ is my personal recommendation for iOS.", "context": "", "use_case": "iOS chat client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["xmpp client on ios", "xmpp iphone client", "xmpp ios client", "ios chat client"], "compared": [{"slug": "snikket", "name": "Snikket", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47034801", "title": "Running My Own XMPP Server", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46949564", "title": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697643", "title": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421536", "title": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47153207", "title": "Ask HN: Who Is Using XMPP?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945663", "title": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 2}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 795184928, "item_id": 49699058, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49699058", "by": "jkxyz", "date": "2026-09-14", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Last time I used Monal on iOS this was solved and worked well.", "excerpt": "If you're talking about the push notifications experience, then XEP-0357 solves this, but app developers have to host the infrastructure which the XMPP server calls back to and dispatches the notifications to Apple or Google. Last time I used Monal on iOS this was solved and worked well. On Android I think most apps still prefer to keep their own background connection open. https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0357.html", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP client on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 790886546, "item_id": 49430409, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49430409", "by": "rtpg", "date": "2026-08-25", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "stuff like Monal \"basically work\" for text + images + chat rooms.", "excerpt": "I was generally \"Matrix feels right\" but I read through [0] and other discussions and I think that Matrix's E2E focus + way of duplicating everything just means that it suffers a lot of scalability issues that \"plain old Jabber\" won't have. now Jabber has client issues, but stuff like Monal \"basically work\" for text + images + chat rooms. I'm excited for Fluux. You can of course set up one of the random web clients. ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence"}, {"id": 754547955, "item_id": 47159247, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47159247", "by": "wahern", "date": "2026-02-25", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Our one iPhone member is content with Modal", "excerpt": "Several years ago I put up an XMPP server (Prosody) to chat with some friends, and it's still going strong. Years ago we used to have a mailing-list to keep in touch, but that eventually went quiet. I had run an XMPP server ~10 years ago (ejabberd), but that was before mobile chat utterly displaced everything else, it never took hold among my friends, and I stopped using it when Google Talk stopped federating, cuttin", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP iPhone client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who Is Using XMPP?"}, {"id": 752599857, "item_id": 47037491, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037491", "by": "MattJ100", "date": "2026-02-16", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Monal is currently working on an overhaul of their UI", "excerpt": "Yeah, iOS is definitely a weaker spot and we're aware of it. Monal is currently working on an overhaul of their UI (they have a grant allocated for it: https://nlnet.nl/project/Monal-IM-UI/ ). There is also a new app in the works between Cheogram and Snikket. There is a beta available, but it's still young (and we won't apply any Snikket branding until E2EE is complete). Thanks for sharing your experience!", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 752593296, "item_id": 47037081, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037081", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-16", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend using Monal as an iOS client instead of the Snikket iOS one.", "excerpt": "You're supposed to self-host it (or rent a hosted instance). But rather than having open registration (or creating accounts beforehand and sending the credentials), you generate invites and send them to your contacts. The invites onboard the users to install the app. The Snikket client works with any XMPP server, and the Snikket server works with any XMPP client. The Snikket clients are soft forks of existing clients", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP iOS client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 751350080, "item_id": 46959380, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959380", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have had success getting apple-loving friends to use", "excerpt": "I have had success getting apple-loving friends to use https://monal-im.org/ https://snikket.org/ are working on a new iOS client too (no release so far).", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751322496, "item_id": 46957656, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46957656", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "https://monal-im.org/ is my personal recommendation for iOS.", "excerpt": "https://monal-im.org/ is my personal recommendation for iOS.", "context": "", "use_case": "iOS chat client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751176993, "item_id": 46948562, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46948562", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-09", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Snikket (https://snikket.org ) with Monal as the iOS client", "excerpt": "Snikket (https://snikket.org ) with Monal as the iOS client", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}]}