Welcome to [Matrix]

An Open Network for Secure, Decentralized Communication

What is Matrix?

Matrix is an open standard for interoperable, decentralized, secure, and real-time communication over the internet. It is a rather new technology that can be thought of as the successor to email. Indeed, in the background, it works very similarly to email, but the user experience closely resembles that of iMessage, Discord, or direct messaging on other social media networks. Matrix has proven itself to be a reliable communication tool over the last few years, and it has only gotten more user-friendly over the course of its development. Matrix is capable enough that it can—and should—totally replace all other means of digital communication. It also offers a much higher degree of security, simplicity, and functionality.

Strictly speaking, Matrix itself is just the protocal by which clients and servers communicate. In order to use Matrix, we need implementations of both clients and servers. Luckily, just like email, many such implementations and providers exist. As an end-user, you don't really have to worry about the server part at all. Just like you can pick your email provider, you can choose any of the publicly-available Matrix homeservers, all of which should be reasonably secure.

The most popular and well-known Matrix client is Element. This client is the one that has the widest system support, and also provides the most feature-complete experience.

In summary:

Matrix is a protocol, much like email. In fact, it can in many ways be considered the next generation of email.
Matrix is for instant-messaging. Think of it as a cross-platform iMessage, or a more secure and feature-complete version of SMS.
Like email, there are many server implementations, hosting providers, and clients, all of which are designed to work together, giving you a lot of freedom in how you use Matrix.
You can host your own homeserver, or use any of the publicly available homeservers. You can find a list of free providers here.

Why Use Matrix?

Some of Matrix's features have been outlined above, but here's a direct answer to why you should use Matrix over any other communication protocol:

Security: Most importantly, Matrix is secure by nature.
- All messages are end-to-end-encrypted by default, which means that only the intended recipients can see them. Not even your homeserver can read your messages! This is in contrast to email and SMS, which offer no encryption whatsoever and are often captured and recorded by service providers and governments. Furthermore, even video and audio streams are end-to-end encrypted, unlike phone calls.
- Anyone can host their own homeserver. If you don't trust your service provider, you can switch to another, or host your own server. Matrix is totally decentralized.
- Unlike iMessage and other chat platforms, there is no one single service provider. You don't have to trust Google or Apple with your communications.
Simplicity: Just as important as security is simplicity. The Matrix environment is very easy to get started with.
- Client applications are easy to install, and work just like any other chat app. You don't have to be a technology wizard to use Matrix with a safe hosting provider.
- For service providers, Matrix doesn't require a lot of complex configuration. You don't need to add any additional security features to it, because server implementations already provide complete functionality out of the box.
Feature Complete: Matrix clients offer a large range of features. Matrix arguably has more features than most other platforms.
- Send images, videos, audio snippets, and arbitrary files.
- See typing notifications and read receipts. Also see when users are online.
- Initiate video and audio calls.
- Create large group chats.
- Send formatted messages using Markdown.
- ... And more! Clients offer a wide range of features that make Matrix useful for all sorts of creative things. You can send polls in chats with some clients, for example.
Cross Platform: Just like email or SMS, Matrix works on any platform.
- No more Android-vs-iOS or Windows-vs-MacOS controversy. Everyone can install apps that work on their operating system; they don't even have to be the same app!
- Access your messages on all of your devices, no matter what operating system or Matrix client they run.

Getting Started

There are many different ways to use Matrix. The instructions shown here, however, are opinionated: they assume you want to use the Element client. Element offers the best end-user experience for those that aren't technically inclined.

The instructions here only need to be performed once. Once you have an account and have configured it properly, all you need to do on new devices is download the app and log in.

Screenshots are not provided here because although the procedure is the same across all platforms, the apps might look slightly different and have things located in different places.

Download Element

Use your phone's app store to install the official Element app:

Android: Google Play Store or F-Droid.
iOS: App Store.

If you're on a desktop computer or laptop running Windows, MacOS, ChromeOS, Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, or any other operating system that supports running a sufficiently modern web browser, you can access the Element web interface online: Element Web. Element also offers native desktop applications for Windows, MacOS, and Linux if you so choose.

Create An Account

Launch the Element app. It will look a little different on each platform, but the general sign-up process goes like this:

When prompted to sign in or create an account, opt to create an account.
When prompted to select a provider, choose to "connect to server" or use a "custom" homeserver. Input your chosen homeserver's address when Element asks for a server address. It is not recommended to use the default matrix.org.
At the sign up screen, enter a new username and password.
- The username can be anything you want, but remember that it is used to represent you. Others will see it and use it to communicate with you, and you cannot change it once you create your account.
- The password should be secure. Some Matrix homeservers enforce a strict password policy. For the security of your Matrix account and your other online accounts, do not reuse an existing password. It is highly recommended to use a password generator to generate a secure password for you. The password should
  - be at least 16 characters in length
  - have at least one digit
  - have at least one symbol that isn't a letter or number
  - have at least one uppercase letter
  - have at least one lowercase letter.
- Do not lose your password. If you forget it, you may not be able to reset it. If you didn't link your email address or phone number, and you're not already logged in on another device to request a reset from the server administrator, you will have to create a new account and you will lose access to all of your messages and contacts.
Once you get logged in, go to your profile settings and update your display name. Your display name is what will appear for other users in conversations. You can also optionally set a profile picture.

Set Up Secure Backup

In order to safeguard against losing access to your encrypted messages, you should set up Secure Backup. Secure Backup stores your message encryption keys on the server in a secure manner so that you can log in on new devices and still have access to your messages, even if you lost your old device or are for some reason unable to use it to verify your new login and thus transfer the encryption keys.

There are other ways to save and load your encryption keys, but this is by far the most convenient and safe. To set up Secure Backup, follow these steps:

Go to Element's settings.
Go to Security & Privacy.
Go to Secure Backup and follow the instructions to set it up.
When prompted about using a security key or a security phrase, opt for the security phrase, but do not reuse your account password. It is highly recommended to use a long, randomly generated password. A compromised security phrase means that all of your message are compromised as well, putting not only you, but the people that you talk to over Matrix at risk. Also note that the security phrase cannot be changed. The normal account password can be changed, but the security phrase is something entirely different that can only be changed by erasing the saved encryption keys, which may lead to a loss of some messages.
When prompted to download or copy the key file, do so, and store it in a safe location on your phone or computer that gets backed up securely. It is highly unlikely that you'll ever need it, but it is best not to risk it. If you wish to copy the contents of the key file on to paper, do not hesitate to do so and store it in a safe location.

Even though the encryption keys are copied to the server in this process, the server still cannot read your encrypted messages. This is because the encryption keys themselves are encrypted and must be decrypted with the security phrase or key file. The key is not saved on the server, so if you lose your security phrase or key, then all your encrypted messages are lost.

Invite Other Matrix Users

You're now ready to start communicating over Matrix. You can invite users to a conversation if you know their Matrix ID. Every user has a Matrix ID in the following format: @username:homeserver.com, where username is the user name that was chosen at sign up time, and homeserver.com is the hostname of the homeserver the user is registered on. For example, my Matrix ID is @jordan:bancino.net, where jordan is my username, and bancino.net is my homeserver.

Since Matrix is federated, you can communicate with users on other homeservers than your own if you wish. You aren't just limited to the users on your homeserver. Provided you know someone's Matrix ID, you can talk to them, no matter where they live in the Matrix ecosystem. Think of Matrix IDs just like they are email addresses or phone numbers.

To invite a user, locate the + ("plus") button in Element. For Android and iOS, it is in the bottom right of the main screen. For the web interface, it is in the left panel. Then, just input the user's Matrix ID. You can try searching for users by username or display name, but Element may not handle this properly. For best results, it is recommended to type out or copy the entire Matrix OD. Users may also share their Matrix ID with you via QR code, which may make inviting them to a new conversation a little easier, depending on your client app.

If you get invited to a chat, Element will notify you at the top of the screen. You can accept or deny invitations directly from the main page.

Additional Resources

If you have any questions about how to go forward from here, or spot an error on this page, please feel free to contact me via Matrix. If you were unsuccessful following any part of these directions and are thus unable to contact me via Matrix, the official Element user guide might be helpful. It provides screenshots of the web interface that may or may not also be helpful for the Android or iOS apps.

What's Next?

Please spread awareness of Matrix! Pass this message along to your friends and family, and try to convince them to use Matrix for all of their digital communication. Matrix works extremely well in both personal and business settings. You can use it to talk to friends and family, or internally at your work to communicate with coworkers. Talk to your supervisor about deploying a Matrix homeserver at your workplace as an alternative to Slack, Microsoft Teams, or other proprietary communication solutions.

Feel free to link to this page and share the link with others.

Save Your Credentials

It is important to store your credentials somewhere safe and secure, such that you won't lose it, but nobody else will find it. Either write down, or digitally store, the following pieces of information:

Your homeserver.
Your username.
Your password.
Your security phrase.
Your security key.