this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26007254

ArcaneChat is a FLOSS private and secure messenger focused on privacy and friendly user experience.

💬 Reliable instant messaging with multi-profile and multi-device support.

⚡️ Sign-up easily and anonymously, no phone number or any private data required.

🎮 Interactive mini-apps in chats for gaming, shopping lists, productivity and collaboration.

🔒 End-to-end encrypted chats safe against network and server attacks.

ArcaneChat is a Delta Chat client and it is compatible with other Delta Chat clients.

Source code: https://github.com/ArcaneChat/

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[–] adbenitez@lemmy.ml 9 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

There are a lot of reasons for each of those will try to provide some at a glance:

SimpleX, XMPP, Matrix: The client is more user friendly, less buggy and less "this is for nerds" UI than the clients of those networks, ArcaneChat is more on the WhatsApp-like UI

Signal is centralized, depends on phone numbers so can't be used by children in the family that don't have access to SIM card yet etc. Registering in Signal is also more complicated, SMS verification, solving captcha etc. No good multi-account and multi-device as ArcaneChat.

Groups in ArcaneChat are managed independent of the server while in XMPP they are created on a given server and if the server dies the group is lost, while in matrix a lot of group state is replicated and tracked by the servers, in XMPP is easy to end up with unencrypted groups and in Matrix you often get "unable to decrypt" and emoji reaction are not even encrypted, ArcaneChat groups are always encrypted and safe against MITM (green checkmark displayed in the group name)

ArcaneChat has in-chat mini-apps that work independent of any server, communication is only between chat members and e2e encrypted, for example collaborative editor in chat, shopping list, split bill app, several mini games with shared scoreboards etc.

ArcaneChat works offline-first unlike many(all?) of the previous mentioned apps you can even create groups while being offline use and modify the in-chat apps and all state will be synchronized when you are back online. The app also works in slow and unstable connectivity when most of the other mentioned apps would simply not manage to connect.

[–] node815@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Along this line what about how it compares to Threema or Session?

[–] adbenitez@lemmy.ml 1 points 54 minutes ago* (last edited 50 minutes ago)

Threema is paid (registration tied to payment is already bad for privacy, most people will not register with some crypto-coin etc) and centralized, any centralized service is vulnerable to enshitification, none of them start evil, also it is easier to block by authoritarian governments and can't be used in a sovereign/independent way (ex. own independent server in a local community)

Session: it has been a long time since I last used Session, at the time my impression was that it was a bit hacky and it was draining my battery and using a lot of mobile data, more importantly Session doesn't seem to have multi-account support, also doesn't seem to support using your own independent server "off-the-grid". Session groups have a limit of only 100 members while in ArcaneChat groups can have 1000 members for now (or even more depending on the server you use, ex. your own)

none of them have in-chat collaborative/interactive apps (ex. collaborative editor, calendar, shopping lists, split bills, polls, etc.) and games that can be used even while offline

[–] bennypr0fane@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Element and Element X (curenntly using) are indeed buggy and I can xo firm that much. The sign-up and verification is, tbh anti-user, it's an intransparent process with too many steps, too many pitfalls, and the ecosystem is never gonna gain traction with this as a flagship experience. Element X is sadly not doing better overall. The constant red or black or grey shield over each message, which one can never get to green somehow? Three kinds of verification codes/mechanisms to understand and manage? That is for nerds, as much as it pains me to say. Signal is not "for nerds". The signup-process is not complicated. It's not dead simple, but easy enough. But it's a centralised service, all in the hands of a single entity. Enough said. Migrating to a new device is hell. It now also has account names, in addition to phone numbers. But please show me where it says you can officially create an account and use it without restriction, while never providing a phone number. An incredibly simple, one-step signon like here in Arcanechat? It's the kind of stuff that the vast majority of users love. Nothing to think about, nothing to understand, just use. Secure, as in bot-proof? No idea, probably not.

[–] philpo@feddit.org 0 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (2 children)

SimpleX, XMPP, Matrix: The client is more user friendly, less buggy and less "this is for nerds" UI than the clients of those networks, ArcaneChat is more on the WhatsApp-like UI

How on earth do you think the various Matrix clients are "this is for nerds" like and buggy? How do you come to this statement?

Signal is centralized, depends on phone numbers so can't be used by children in the family that don't have access to SIM card yet etc. Registering in Signal is also more complicated, SMS verification, solving captcha etc. No good multi-account and multi-device as ArcaneChat.

Signal can be based on Useraccounts without phone numbers as well. And the registration process tbh is a pro and non a con - if you don't provide a secured process you will be run over by bots at some time.

ArcaneChat groups are always encrypted and safe against MITM (green checkmark displayed in the group name)

Is that feature audited?

Sorry,but all this sounds more like easy marketing buzzwording and not like actual benefits that have a proven benefit.

BTW: Furthmore your website does not confirm with German legal requirements and makes you an easy target for bad faith lawyers,btw.

[–] bennypr0fane@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 hours ago

Various XMPP clients are an inconsistent and hard to use ~~**~~ mess, compared to the likes of Signal and Whatsapp

[–] adbenitez@lemmy.ml 5 points 7 hours ago

How on earth do you think the various Matrix clients are “this is for nerds” like and buggy? How do you come to this statement?

if you don't even see the problem, I am not even sure it is worth to try to talk about it... ex. a private 1:1 chat in Matrix is a "room" the whole experience of starting a private chat with your mom is a series of "foo invited bar to room", "bar joined the room", etc. besides easy to end up in a state where not even you can read your own messages the famous "unable to decrypt"

Signal can be based on Useraccounts without phone numbers as well.

Signal depends on phone numbers, if you are talking about setting a nick-name (which Telegram supports since ages) that doesn't mean anything a phone number is still required, just as in Telegram, and it is not an argument against my point that talked about the need for a SIM card.

And the registration process tbh is a pro and non a con

it is a con, period.

if you don’t provide a secured process you will be run over by bots at some time.

bots are supported and welcome, just as on Telegram, bots can't spam people because, unlike on Signal with the phone numbers problem, in ArcaneChat people can't just write to you randomly, they need your contact's invitation link. Also in worse case, migrating your address is possible and cheap, you can have many accounts as you want and also create accounts temporarily to interact "in the wild"

Is that feature audited?

yes, ArcaneChat is a Delta Chat client, and the Delta Chat app and core has received several audits (six over the past of years so far), any Delta Chat client using the Delta Chat core benefits from the security audits, you can read about it here: https://chaos.social/@delta/113963707915543266 unlike many of the mentioned clients that don't have any known security audit at all?

BTW: Furthmore your website does not confirm with German legal requirements and makes you an easy target for bad faith lawyers,btw.

could you tell me what is wrong with it? my address is show in the terms & privacy policy / GDPR, but I admittedly am not well informed in German law topics, so if you could point me in the right direction I would be really grateful

post-data: please don't read my reply as a aggressive discussion, I am just providing arguments, not trying to fight unknown people in the Internet, and I appreciate you took your time to reply, have a nice day!