Debby ‬⁂📎🐧May 6, 2025

Skype, one of the pioneers in internet telephony, has officially ended its support on May 5, 2025. While it was not perfect, Skype held a special place for many as their first experience with online calling. As we bid farewell to Skype, it's important to look ahead at the alternatives that can fill the void. Here are some free and open-source options that can replace Skype seamlessly:

Jitsi

Switch to Jitsi, the free and open-source video conferencing tool. Here's why Jitsi is a great choice:

- Cross-Platform: Jitsi works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, making it accessible to everyone.
- Easy Sharing: Share your screen, files, and even collaborate on documents in real-time.
- Rich Media Support: Jitsi supports high-quality video and audio, ensuring a smooth and engaging experience.

Get started with Jitsi, visit https://jitsi.org/

Matrix (Element)

Matrix is an open standard for decentralized communication, and Element is its flagship client. It supports text messaging, voice and video calls, and file sharing. Matrix's decentralized nature allows users to host their own servers, providing greater control over their data.

- Interoperability: Matrix can bridge with other communication platforms, making it versatile.
- End-to-End Encryption: Ensure your communications are secure with built-in encryption.
- Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Learn more about Matrix and Element at https://element.io/

Session

Session is a decentralized messaging app that emphasizes privacy and security. It uses the Oxen network for secure communication and does not require a phone number or email address for registration.

- Privacy-Focused: No phone number or email required, ensuring anonymity.
- Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
- Decentralized: No central servers, reducing the risk of data breaches.

Explore Session at https://getsession.org/

Signal

Signal is known for its strong focus on privacy and security, offering end-to-end encryption for all communications, including voice calls, video calls, and messaging.

- End-to-End Encryption: All communications are secure and private.
- Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Download Signal at https://signal.org/

Mumble

Mumble is primarily designed for voice communication, offering low-latency, high-quality voice chat. It's often used by gamers and communities that require clear and reliable voice communication.

- Low-Latency: Ensures smooth and clear voice communication.
- Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Get started with Mumble at https://www.mumble.info/

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Free Video Conferencing Software for Web & Mobile | Jitsi

Learn more about Jitsi, a free open-source video conferencing software for web & mobile. Make a call, launch on your own servers, integrate into your app, and more.

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Show threadKevin Karhan May 6, 2025

@debby #Mumble, #IRC, #XMPP (+OMEMO = @gajim / #monoclesChat) & #Linphone (#SIP / #VoIP) are the better options. #NextcloudTalk also exist and @monocles as well as @Stuxhost offer that.

OfC #JitsiMeet and #WebCall are also great!

https://webcall.timur.mobi

Show threadDebby ‬⁂📎🐧May 6, 2025

@kkarhan @monocles @Stuxhost @delta Thank you for your valuable input! It's always enlightening to hear different perspectives on communication tools.
#Linphone Firstly, I appreciate the mention of Linphone. It is indeed a great tool, and I should have included it in my list. Linphone stands out for its versatility and strong support for various communication protocols, making it a robust option for both personal and professional use.

#DeltaChat is new to me, and I am eager to give it a try. However, I am curious: is it just another XMPP client, or does it offer unique features that set it apart? Generally, I prefer les feature-rich clients because I often use just simple text and voice communication. For my personal use case, XMPP is fine when it is compatible with TTS (Text-to-Speech). You're right that IRC and XMPP have their strengths, but I am always on the lookout for tools that I can offer to regular users.

#Signal and Session are both backed by single entities but prioritize user privacy. Personally, I don't have enough experience to delve deeply into the pros and cons of Signal and Session. A significant limitation of Signal is that I can't build the app from source code, and as far as I know, there is no real way to run it on a server OS—it's only available on iOS, Android, and via Waydroid on Linux, with wayland GUI. At least Session is working on x86 architectures. In general, I think both are useful for mainstream users due to their familiar interfaces and ease of use. While Signal and Session do a good job with privacy, they may not be the most secure options, and they certainly don't rank high on the Free Software scale. Would you agree with my evaluation, or could you elaborate on your criticism?

#Matrix is designed to be decentralized and open, allowing users to host their own servers. This decentralization provides greater control over data and enhances privacy. Comparing Matrix to XMPP+OMEMO might oversimplify its capabilities, as Matrix offers advanced features like cross-platform interoperability and robust end-to-end encryption. It's open-source, and I haven't seen any obvious problems with it. Could you elaborate on your thoughts about Matrix?

Show threadKevin Karhan May 6, 2025

@debby @monocles @Stuxhost well, @delta / #deltaChat is not using #XMPP+#OMEMO (unlike #monoclesChat & #gajim) but #PGP/MIME on regular #eMail, which makes it way easier to setup in organizations as not "yet another server needed" and also easier to comply with mandatory #archival laws in #business use-cases.

Overview - monocles Documentation

Show threadCyMay 7, 2025
@delta / #deltaChat is not using #XMPP+#OMEMO (unlike #monoclesChat & #gajim) but #PGP/MIME on regular #eMail,
...wait, why not just email people and use PGP, then?
Show threadrakoo
@cy

because "email with pgp" currently is "install those 2 apps and those 3 plugins, do those 13 steps to install everything and share your key, and hope that you don't misclick and accidentally remove encryption"

#deltachat is more aptly described as e2ee messaging that happens to use smtp, imap and pgp. The focus is not on the protocols but on the UX: you shouldn't have to care about keys, for instance, so let the app do it for you. pgp gives you the possibility to do a million funky stuff so you need a master in it to make sure you don't use it wrong.

Because the technicalities are not brought to the front, deltachat is also an experiment in doing internet stuff differently, and one of the cool things it does is webxdc apps: little bundle of code shared in a conversation, to execute pretty much any task, securely limited to communicating only with the people in the conversation. No need for another login and passwords and website to remember and webapps that update all the time, it's there already whero you need it.
@kkarhan
May 7, 2025 at 8:50pmWeb
Show threadKevin Karhan May 7, 2025

@rakoo @cy yeah, tho @thunderbird nowadays has #OpenPGP / #GPG - support built in ( #Enigmail ) and that just works.

  • But @delta / #deltaChat does make things way easier for "#TechIlliterate #Normies" and provides them with a familiar #UI & #UX from other #Messengers whilst also not requiring "yet another #server / #service" to be spun up, which is a major no-no in many organizations, espechally #businesses.

  • Whereas DeltaChat using #eMail as it's backbone infrastructure works fine, and that is an important point for it like #business use [i.e. #Germany] where all business communications have to be archived for at least 10 years for tax auditability reasons, and the whole #MailArchival issue has been "solved" by multiple providers and solutions so it makes sense to just do a +chat suffix, filter said messages and have them in the same #inbox as all other eMails.

I just wished #Thunderbird would also support displaying such chats similar to deltaChat to provide a #unified experience across platforms...

Show threadrakooMay 7, 2025
@kkarhan

I'm sorry but no, gpg in @thunderbird doesn't "just work". You need to manually create a key with the 16 clicks and technical chops that go with it, you need to understand the settings, you need to share your key, you need to make sure it's activated, ... it's better than before for sure but it's far from, dare I say, acceptable.

Please don't belittle people for not knowing how to use gpg. If anything it's us who are not socially intelligent enough to understand what is a need, what is a feature, what is a usecase, and trying to shove gpg as-is as if it was a good tool to encrypt messages. It's not.
@cy @delta
Show threadKevin Karhan May 7, 2025

@rakoo @delta @cy @thunderbird

It is a good tool because it allows for self-custody of keys.

  • Also by that notion manually setting up an eMail account is also complicated for anything that Thunderbird can't autoguess or doesn't have in it's database.

Shure that isn't an excuse for #Thunderbird to not deliver sane defaults and handhold users asking them at account creation/import if they want to create/import a keypair and/or wish to automatically activate it.

  • Same with pulic keys: #Enigmail used to have the nice feature to automagically attach the Pubkey to every eMail and to automatically sign and encrypt them. In fact I have this preconfigured to the point that any non-encrypted eMail requires me to manually confirm stuff.

I don't "belittle people for not knowing how to use gpg" but instead acknowledge the lack of #TechLiteracy as a matter of facts because most people got groomed into being consoomers and into ignorant users.

  • It's not their fault, it's decades of failed education and awareness that now demand compound interest like credit card debt.
rakoo (@[email protected])

@kkarhan I'm sorry but no, gpg in @thunderbird doesn't "just work". You need to manually create a key with the 16 clicks and technical chops that go with it, you need to understand the settings, y...