Matrix, the protocol which might finally make messaging apps interoperable
Interoperability & decentralization These are the major themes in tech for this year. They were driven in large part in part by increasing regulation, industrial pressure and societal and societal pressure. hype trains that are crypto and web3. This rising tide lifts other boats: An open-standards-based communication protocol called Matrix This is a key role in interoperability for another part of our digital lives, messaging.
The Matrix network’s total number of users doubled in size this yearMatthew Hodgson is one of Matrix’s cocreators. This is a noteworthy, if not overwhelming, rise to 80.3 million users.
Although the majority of this activity has been focused on enterprise communications, it seems that mainstream consumer platforms are now taking note.
Some sleuthing Jane Manchun Wong, an engineer and app researcher, discovered evidence that Reddit was testing Matrix for its Chat feature. This is more or less what TechCrunch confirmed to Reddit. Although a spokesperson stated that they are “looking at a variety of ways to improve Reddit conversations” and were “testing many options”, they did not name Matrix.
It’s also happening in spite of the larger swing in support for interoperability, digital wallets And maps Matrix offers a more detailed look into how we got to this point.
The beginning
Take a look at the hands holding the mobile phones from above Image Credits: Malte Mueller / Getty
Anyone who’s ever sent an SMS or an email will have no idea what service provider, network or messaging client the intended recipient used. The reason it doesn’t really matter is that T-Mobile customers and Verizon customers can text one another just fine, while Gmail users and Outlook users are able to email each other with no problem.
However, this wasn’t always true. You could only communicate with people on the same network in the early days of electronic mail. As mobile phones grew in popularity throughout the 1990s people couldn’t text their friends if they were using a different network. Europe and Asia led interoperability efforts, and the major North American telcos were following suit. realized they could unlock a veritable goldmine It would be great if they let consumers message their friends via rival networks. It was a win for all.
Now, in the smartphone age, email isn’t quite gone the way the dodo, but the most popular communication tools aren’t as friendly with one another. Individual privacy-focused messaging apps are for those who want to embrace them. such as Signal They will be unable to move when they realize this. Literally All their friends are using WhatsApp. Or iMessage. Telegram. You get the idea.
This trend extends to the enterprise. Slack can be used by your company to send a message to your friend across town. Those in human resources, however, who are tethered to Meta’s Workplace, may have to reconsider DMing their colleagues in sales using Salesforce Chatter.
While this is nothing new, it has become a major issue in 2022. Europe is pushing ahead with rules To force interoperability of online platforms through the Digital Markets ActDMAThe U.S. has similar plans The ACCESS Act.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s arrival at Twitter has driven awareness of alternatives such as Mastodon, the so-called “open source Twitter alternative” that shot past 2 million users From the back chaos at Twitter. Mastodon is powered open ActivityPub protocol and is built around this concept of the fediverse: A decentralized network of interconnected servers that allows different ActivityPub-powered services communicate with one another. Tumblr was recently created revealed It stated that it will continue to support ActivityPub in the future. Flickr CEO Don MacAskill polled his Twitter followers Whether ActivityPub should be adopted by the photo-hosting community and platform?
Despite the media hype surrounding interoperability in recent weeks, there was already some movement in this direction. It was driven by both governments and enterprises who want to avoid vendor lock in and have greater control over their data.
Enter the Matrix
Matthew Hodgson, Matrix co-creators and Element founders, and Amandine le Pape, Matrix cofounders Image Credits: Element
Matrix was invented Software and services company Amdocs In 2014, spearheaded the Hodgson And Amandine Le Pape They left the company in order to concentrate on Matrix’s growth as an open-source project. They also wanted to commercialize Matrix via a company called New VectorMatrix was created by, and it has since been used to host a number of websites. Slack alternative App called Riot. Hodgson & Le Pape in 2018. launched the Matrix.org Foundation To act as a legal entity, guardian, and administrator for all-things Matrix. This includes protecting Matrix’ intellectual property and managing donations.
Matrix’s commercial flagship implementation was rebranded as Element Element was established a little more then two years ago. Today, Element is backed today by Automattic, Dawn Capital and Notion Labs. others This is used by numerous organizations that are seeking a federated solution to the U.S. technology giants’ big-name incumbents.
Element is open source, promises end-to–end encryption, and its customers have access to the usual cross-platform features one would expect from a product for team collaboration, such as group messaging and voice and/or video chat.
Action of the element Image Credits: Element
Element can be hosted on companies’ infrastructure. This eliminates concerns about how data might be mis-used on third party servers. It also ensures that they have full control over their data stack. This is a major deal breaker for entities hosting sensitive data.
Big Tech is being forced to pay more attention to data sovereignty by a growing number of regulations, especially in Europe. partnering with Deutsche Telekom’s IT services and consulting subsidiary T-Systems last year to offer German companies a “sovereign cloud” for their sensitive data.
The Matrix protocol has benefited from this regulatory push as well as growing expectations regarding data sovereignty. Last year, the agency responsible to digitalize Germany’s health system revealed It was transitioning into Matrix to ensure that 150,000 entities in the health care sector, such as hospitals, clinics and insurance companies could communicate with one another regardless of which Matrix-based app it used.
This expands upon existing Matrix applications elsewhere, including within the French government via the Tchap As well as the German armed force, it offers a platform for team collaboration. Bundeswehr.
TechCrunch has heard Hodgson explain that the pendulum is clearly moving towards decentralization. “We’re now seeing serious use of Matrix-based decentralized communications across or within the French, German, U.K, Swedish, Finnish and U.S governments, as well as the likes of NATO and adjacent organisations.”
In May, open source began to be accepted. enterprise messaging platform Rocket.Chat revealed It was expected to transition to the Matrix protocol. This transition is still underway, but it represented a significant coup to the Matrix movement. Rocket.Chat boasts 12 million users in major organizations like Audi, Continental, and Germany’s national railway company, The Deutsche Bahn.
Rocket.Chat spokeswoman said that “We believe that any messaging platform’s value increases based on its ability connect with other platforms.” TechCrunch was also informed by Rocket.Chat. Rocket.Chat has spent a lot of time connecting with other platforms. It doesn’t matter which client we use to email each other. We shouldn’t worry about that when we message each other.
Rocket.chat Image credit: Chat.chat
Perhaps the most striking thing about this whole situation is its inversion of traditional enterprise and consumer social networks and team collaboration tools.
Slack, Facebook and Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Twitter and all other apps are all about harnessing a network effect. The network effect is where a product’s value is intrinsically tied to its number of users. People want to be with their friends and colleagues, so they will stick with the same social network or use multiple apps at once.
Open and interoperable protocol support a new breed in business that recognizes the need for something that doesn’t lock people in.
Rocket.Chat spokesperson said, “Our goal not to force people into using Rocket.Chat to communicate with one another.” “Our goal is not to force people to use Rocket.Chat to communicate with each other, but to help organizations collaborate securely across all platforms.”
Bridge the gap
The Matrix protocol also supports non-native interoperability through a technique called “bridging,” which ushers in support for non-Matrix apps, including WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. Element offers bridging in its consumer-focused subscription product, called Element OneUsers pay $5 per Month to link all their friends in one interface. This applies regardless of the app they use.
Element One subscribers have the ability to bring together different messaging apps Image credit: The Matrix Foundation
This is possible through APIs made available publicly by the tech companies. Terms of use can be restrictive in terms of how they can interact with other apps. They may also impose usage limits or rate-limits.
The Bridging, as it stands, sits somewhere between a “” and a “Is this allowed??” perspective. But with the world’s regulatory eyes laser-focused on Big Tech’s stranglehold on online communications, the companies perhaps don’t enforce all their T&Cs too rigorously.
Last month, the DMA entered into force in Europe. However, it won’t become effective until May next year. The DMA has specific provisions that allow for data portability and interoperability. The DMA will be effective in Europe from then on. How The new regulations will be supported by the Big Tech “gatekeepers”. We’re actually talking about open APIs that allow third-parties to communicate and integrate with their Big Tech peers. However, this doesn’t mean APIs will be easy to use and have clear documentation. We can expect some intentional heel-dragging and hurdles along their way.
Compliance
WhatsApp and Facebook applications displayed on an iPhone Image Credits: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Popular messaging apps like WhatsApp don’t offer end-to-end encryption and are not designed for enterprises or government use. However, such apps are used widely in such situations. Back in July, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) called for a government review “Private correspondence channels” like personal email accounts or WhatsApp are a concern. It is noted that there were no clear controls and this could result in the loss of important information being “lost, stolen, or insecurely managed.”
John Edwards, U.K. Information Commissioner, said that “I fully understand the value of instant communications such as WhatsApp”, especially during the pandemic when officials had to take quick decisions and meet varied demands.” Although these methods are not illegal, they must not be used in an era of lack of transparency or inadequate data security. Public officials should be able show their operations for record keeping and public confidence. This is how trust can be maintained in decisions made and what lessons can be learned for the future.
In the business arena, however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), recently settled with 16 Wall Street firms for $1.1 billion over “widespread recordskeeping failures” related their use of private messaging app such as WhatsApp.
Gary Gensler, SEC Chair, stated that finance, ultimately, is dependent on trust. Such record keeping has been crucial to maintain market integrity since the 1930s. As technology changes, it’s even more important that registrants appropriately conduct their communications about business matters within only official channels, and they must maintain and preserve those communications.”
A paper trail must be maintained and politicians and business owners held accountable. The Matrix protocol offers a degree of control. But, requiring every company of a certain size to interoperate with other software — as the DMA regulations does — raises many questions about privacy, security and the wider user experience.
The encryption elephant in a room
Illustration of the “elephant inside the room” concept Image Credits: Klyaksun / Getty Images
As Casey Newton Has noted over at The Platformer More than once, Europe’s interoperability regulations have presented a number of pitfalls. One is the obstacles they will create to end-to-end encryption. This means that data can be encrypted while in transit and cannot be decoded.
End-to end encryption is a big selling point for today’s large tech companies. WhatsApp hoots from the rooftops about it. It is difficult to make this work across different platforms, even though it is possible. Experts on the subject are numerous. say that it’s not possible To enforce a truly secure, interoperable messaging network that doesn’t compromise encryption.
WhatsApp has the ability to promise end-to-end encryption and control it on its platform. WhatsApp cannot control the flow of billions upon billions of messages between WhatsApp and other apps run by different companies.
Hodgson recognizes that not all services use the same encryption. Hodgson stated, “End to end encrypted platforms need to speak the exact same language from beginning to end.”
In a blog post The Matrix Foundation published a list of workarounds earlier this year in order to address encryption concerns. It suggested that all big gatekeepers switch over to the same “decentralized, end-to-end protocol” to solve the problem. Matrix is, as expected, a huge undertaking that, according to the Foundation, “we shouldn’t rule out” but which, it stated, “would be a large undertaking.”
Hodgson illustrated this point by pointing to Element’s 2020 acquisition of GitterGitLab purchased, a developer-focused chat platform and community, which was used by large-name companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Microsoft. Element was acquired by GitLab within two months. had introduced Gitter native Matrix connectivity
A Facebook, Google, and Apple scale transition would require a different approach. It could also cause chaos. A blog post This year, security and cryptography expert Alec Muffett It was suggested that social networking apps and messaging apps should adhere to the same protocol to ensure “no practical differentiation” among different services.
“Imagine a world in which Signal and Snapchat have to work together — how would that look? Muffett asked TechCrunch rhetorically in a Q&A for this story. “Specifically, what features need to be presented on one side and what educators should surround them? What would happen if functionality conflicts were to be reconciled?
This is why Matrix Foundation proposed alternative solutions, including adopting a TLS certificate-style warning where the user is notified that cross-service conversations are not fully protected. This could be compared to Apple’s Messages app, which supports both encrypted iMessage text and unencrypted SMS. Muffett says it would add unnecessary complexity.
“Apart from any other reason that I could cite, there is any amount of user interface research which explains that security-pop-up-warnings are generally not understood and not heeded,” Muffett said. This is supported by tons of research. Popup warnings are a’safety hazard.anti-pattern‘.”
The Matrix Foundation also suggested that communication traffic could be converted between encryption language in a “bridge”, although this would require you to break the encryption and then re-encrypt it safely.
Hodgson explained that bridges could be executed client-side – for example, Matrix iMessage Bridge runs client-side on iPhone and Mac — or use client-side open APIs locally between the apps.” They could also be run server-side on hardware controlled directly by the user. This ensures that re-encryption takes place in the most secure environment possible and not on vulnerable centralized servers.
No matter how you try to solve the problem, breaking encryption is not ideal. Perhaps more important, there is no solid solution to the encryption problems caused by enforced interoperability.
Hodgson stated that in the past, the benefits of the EU regulations were greater than the negatives.
“On balance, we think that the benefits of mandating open APIs outweigh the risks that someone is going to run a vulnerable large-scale bridge and undermine everyone’s E2EE,” he wrote In May. “It’s better to have the option to be able to get at your data in the first place, than be held hostage in a walled garden.”
Tip of an iceberg
It is worth noting that while the Matrix protocol is most well-known for its use in messaging, it has potential other applications. Recently, the Matrix Foundation announced Third RoomMatrix is the foundation of, which is a distributed and interoperable metaverse platform. This is contrary to the metaverse that could be created in the future, but will not be controlled by Meta’s parent company Facebook.
Element remains the mainstay of a Matrix-powered world. Element has already secured big-name clients such as Mozilla. Element is also using Element as a fully managed service. Element stated that it signed a $18million four-year contract with an unnamed company. It also has strategic backers such as Automattic parent WordPress.com, who first introduced Element to the public. invested $4.6 million Element will be back in 2020, prior to its return for its $30 million Series B Last year.
Matrix has found the perfect spot to thrive. It’s at the right moment, when the world is looking for a way out from Big Tech’s grips. Twitter too has been a part of the discussion about the dangers of centralized control, which is allowing all companies to drum the interoperability beat.
Hodgson stated, “The situation at Twitter was absolutely amazing in terms building awareness of the perils centralization and providing a pivotal moment helping users discover we are entering an age of decentralization.” “Just as many users have discovered that Mastodon is an increasingly viable decentralized alternative to Twitter, we’ve seen a massive halo effect of users discovering Matrix as a way to reclaim their independence over real-time communications such as messaging and VoIP — our long-term user base in particular is growing at its fastest ever rate.”