Element

A Matrix client for secure messaging.

Element is the flagship client for the Matrix protocol, an open standard for federated, end-to-end encrypted real-time communication. Where Signal and WhatsApp are centralised services, Matrix is federated: any home server can interoperate with any other, similar to email or XMPP. Element clients connect to a chosen home server (matrix.org for many users, or a self-hosted Synapse or Dendrite for organisations that prefer to run their own).

Element Software (formerly New Vector) develops both the Matrix protocol and Element clients, with the wider Matrix.org Foundation governing the protocol and reference servers. The protocol supports rich content, threads, voice/video calls (via Matrix VoIP), end-to-end encryption with cross-signing device verification, and bridges to IRC, Slack, Discord, XMPP, and many other systems.

Matrix and Element have substantial adoption among open-source communities (KDE, Mozilla, GNOME), governments (the French government's Tchap, the German Bundeswehr), and organisations needing self-hostable real-time communication. The federation model is a defining feature relative to alternatives.

License: AGPL-3.0-only

Category: Communication

Website: https://element.io/

Install

Web: https://app.element.io/
Desktop:
  Debian/Ubuntu: see https://element.io/download
  Flatpak:       flatpak install flathub im.riot.Riot
  macOS:         brew install --cask element

Authors

Element Software Inc.
Matrix.org Foundation

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