Messengers
Matrix privacy rating
Open standard and federated network for real-time chat and calls, with end-to-end encryption through the Olm and Megolm protocols. Anyone can run a homeserver, and many clients such as Element support it.
Summary
Matrix scores 58 out of 100 (grade D) on the messengers criteria. It meets 4 of 8 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, no phone number needed and decentralized. It partly meets independent audit and end-to-end encrypted by default. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry and metadata protection. It is based in the United Kingdom: Five Eyes member; GDPR-style data protection law; CLOUD Act data access agreement with the US.
Score 58 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- Yes
-
No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
The matrix.org homeserver sends account usage analytics to PostHog, and the website uses hosted Plausible analytics.
-
Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
The non-profit Matrix.org Foundation is funded by donations and organisational memberships, with no ads.
-
Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
A full Least Authority audit of the vodozemac encryption library is public but is older than three years.
-
Partial
End-to-end encrypted by default Weight 3 of 3
Are all chats, including groups, end-to-end encrypted by default?
Encryption is an optional room setting in the protocol; major clients enable it for private chats, but public rooms are unencrypted.
-
Yes
No phone number needed Weight 2 of 3
Can an account be created without a phone number?
No phone number is needed; on the matrix.org homeserver a verified phone number is optional.
-
No
Metadata protection Weight 2 of 3
Does the service minimize who-talks-to-whom metadata (for example sealed sender or no user identifiers)?
Homeservers see room membership, senders and timestamps, and share them with every server in a room.
-
Yes
Decentralized Weight 1 of 3
Can people run their own server or talk peer to peer?
Federated protocol; anyone can run a homeserver.