===== E2EE Communications =====
SMS (normal "texting") is very officially [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/12/06/fbi-warns-iphone-and-android-users-stop-sending-texts/|unsafe]] for **all** communications that we would hope/expect not to be snooped upon. Therefore, E2EE ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption|end-to-end encryption]]) is a must-have for how we communicate. There are a few ways we normally communicate: 1-on-1 (in other words, the same as texting), many to many (this would be group texting), and threaded discussions (the ability to manage your own level of commitment/interest/notification levels for multiple topic-based discussion threads as opposed to every message goes to every person every time). This E2EE communications section will primarily address software used for 1-to-1 communication, and threaded communication

==== 1-to-1 Communication ====
*[[https://matrix.org/clients/|Matrix]]
  * Positives
    * Crystal clear voice and video communication
    * Easily sendable voice recordings, like Signal
    * Does not require a phone number to use
    * Can be run independently
  * Negatives
    * Notifications can occasionally be broken by Android updates, but there is an [[e2ee_communications_matrix_notification_fix|easy fix]]
* [[https://briarproject.org/|Briar]]
  * Positives
    * Just works
    * Great for very quickly establishing secure encrypted communication with people while in-person
    * Can work over bluetooth
      * Use with [[https://www.rfwireless-world.com/terminology/bluetooth-range-and-coverage|sufficient proximity]] for bluetooth is also possible if cell network is unavailable/has an outage
    * Exclusively uses [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)|Tor]] for communication over the internet
  * Negatives
    * Client app only available for Android (no iOS, but a [[https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar-desktop/-/wikis/Changelog|desktop app is in beta]])
* [[https://signal.org/download/|Signal]]
  * Positives
    * Many clients are available (Android, iOS, desktop)
    * Controlled by a fairly resilient [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Foundation|foundation]]
  * Negatives
    * Requires the use of a real phone number, which in turn often requires rigorous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer|KYC verification]]
* [[https://telegram.org/|Telegram]]
  * Positives
    * E2EE
  * Negatives
    * Controlled by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Durov|one guy]]
==== Threaded Communication ====
* [[https://discord.com/download|Discord]]
  * Positives
  * Negatives
    * Can not be hosted independently
* [[https://matrix.org/clients/|Matrix]]
  * Positives
    * Can be hosted independently
  * Negatives
    * Notifications can occasionally be broken by Android updates, but there is an [[e2ee_communications_matrix_notification_fix|easy fix]]
* [[https://mattermost.com/|Mattermost]]
  * Positives
    * Can be hosted independently
  * Negatives
    * "Freemium" model - extra features are only available in subscription