Conversations
Open-source XMPP chat client for Android with OMEMO end-to-end encryption.
Liked as a stable, crash-free Android XMPP client that families and friend groups have used for years1234, and for delivering UnifiedPush notifications to other apps on Google-free phones.56 The main caveats concern encryption: one commenter says it uses an outdated OMEMO implementation7, and another says it won't send to a group when some members' keys are unknown.8
Why people recommend it
Reliability · 3
Long-term users report it rarely or never crashes; one switched to it from the crashier Xabber.
“Conversations doesn't crash at all for me.”
“I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed.”
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“We just mostly Conversations or one of its forks on Android”
Family chat · 3
Used for years to keep in touch with partners, kids, friends and family.
“thank you for Conversations, Daniel, it has been my go-to for years for communicating with friends and family.”
“I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed.”
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“We just mostly Conversations or one of its forks on Android”
Self-hosting fit · 3
Pairs with self-hosted servers like Prosody and web clients in an all-free-software setup.
“clients using only free software - prosody for the server, Conversations/dino/gajim/converse.js for the clients”
“I use 'Conversations' (from F-Droid) on my Android”
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“We just mostly Conversations or one of its forks on Android”
Push notifications · 2
Can act as a UnifiedPush distributor, reusing its XMPP connection to deliver notifications for other apps.
“Conversations can be configured as a UP distributor, because of how good it is at that”
“the XMPP client Conversations can utilize its existing, permanent XMPP connection to deliver push notifications”
Android client · 2
Called an amazing Android client that supports modern features such as audio and video calls.
“Conversations is a really amazing Android client.”
“I use Dino on Debian and Conversations on Android.”
Caveats and dissent
Outdated OMEMO · 1
One commenter says it uses an outdated, insecure OMEMO version, unlike Profanity and Kaidan.
“most clients use an outdated and insecure implementation of OMEMO. This includes popular clients such as Conversations and Gajim.”
Group encryption · 1
It refuses to send to a group when some members' keys are unknown, and OMEMO group chats scale poorly.
“Some clients (Conversations) do not allow to send message to a group when they do not know some keys”
Agent use · 1
One commenter using XMPP for software agents rated it only 'okay' and needed custom modifications.
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence 5 mentions
- Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free 2 mentions
- Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction? 2 mentions
- GrapheneOS Overhauled Default Apps and Secure Clipboard 1 mention
- EU now one step away from reviving private message scanning rules 1 mention
- Session is shutting down in 90 days 1 mention
Data: conversations.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 14
“Conversations can be configured as a UP distributor, because of how good it is at that”
“thank you for Conversations, Daniel, it has been my go-to for years for communicating with friends and family.”
“We just mostly Conversations or one of its forks on Android”
“Some clients (Conversations) do not allow to send message to a group when they do not know some keys”
“you should take a look at e.g. Cheogram, Conversations, and Element and consider ways to enhance integration”
“I use 'Conversations' (from F-Droid) on my Android”
“Conversations doesn't crash at all for me.”
“Conversations, okay”
“I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed.”
“the XMPP client Conversations can utilize its existing, permanent XMPP connection to deliver push notifications”
“clients using only free software - prosody for the server, Conversations/dino/gajim/converse.js for the clients”
“most clients use an outdated and insecure implementation of OMEMO. This includes popular clients such as Conversations and Gajim.”
“Conversations is a really amazing Android client.”
“I use Dino on Debian and Conversations on Android.”