Comment by Arathorn
> What does running a matrix server get me in 2025?
Is there any other FOSS, self-hosted, decentralised platform with E2EE chat & E2EE group VoIP - i.e. the equivalent of Signal, but without depending on a centralised service?
From my pov (which is biased, as Matrix project lead), the downsides are:
* We still expose too much metadata to the server. Work is afoot to fix this, though - e.g. https://youtu.be/Q6NSmptZIS4?t=933 for encrypted state events.
* Synapse is still uses waaaaay too much database. I proposed a solution here: https://youtu.be/D5zAgVYBuGk?t=1852 but it needs to get properly implemented.
* Element's transition from the legacy apps to Element X has not been smooth, causing much of the gnashing of teeth in this thread (e.g. lack of interop between 1:1 voip and group-e2ee voip, or teething problems in the new apps).
* Post Quantum Encryption hasn't landed yet; it's been painful to get funding together for it.
I would say the biggest issue is not any of those things, it's that issues of this magnitude (including many of the ones fixed in the last year) are still being identified and requiring things like a "transition from legacy apps", breaking server changes, etc. In other words, it is not stable.