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Jami or wire

Added by Jacob Bahn over 4 years ago

I also asked this question on Trisquel.info:

Can someone with experience from using Jami and Wire give a short comparison of the two?

If one is to ask people who are not necessarily free software enthusiasts to use a free software communications alternative, which of the two would be better? Or is there another alternative which is even better?


Replies (4)

RE: Jami or wire - Added by Kurtis Hanna over 4 years ago

There were some answers to this question here: https://trisquel.info/en/forum/jami-or-wire

RE: Jami or wire - Added by Xan VFR over 4 years ago

I had to find a free and multi-platform alternative when my brother bought and iPhone (sigh!) and we tested Jami. It worked pretty well both in Android and iOS, with many useful features.

But one day it stopped working and I'm not sure if flaw is on Jami, iOS or Replicant's side. My brother had to create a new Jami account (I don't quite understand how this works, since it's supposed to create the account in the phone, but it checks if username is available, so I think some server is involved). I thought me using Tor could cause some issue, so I uninstalled Orbot but it's still not working. I haven't spent much more time on this since iOS is involved, and that's my brother's fault, not mine.

Summing up, I found Jami quite useful because it's multi-platform and its various useful features. Only thing I don't know about is if it's so decentralized as Savoir-Faire claims, because of what I said earlier. Also I don't know Savoire-Faire's reputation as far free software and privacy are concerned.

RE: Jami or wire - Added by Danyl Strype over 4 years ago

Hi Xan

it checks if username is available, so I think some server is involved

Basically, your Jami ID is a long string of gibberish (like a phone number but longer and more confusing) than nobody will ever remember. So you can register a human-readable username (it's optional) that your contacts can remember and recognize. But that requires a username server, to make sure every username is unqiue and points to only one Jami address. But these nameservers are now a decentralized system too, and organizations can run their own.

This is explained here in more detail here:
https://jami.net/why-is-jami-truly-distributed/

I don't know about is if it's so decentralized as Savoir-Faire claims

In general, it is. There are some very specific situations in which servers are involved, which are described at the link above. The downsides of Jami being so decentralized are that it makes it harder for the devs to implement group text chat (still not available), or messages sync between clients (although it can sync contacts).

RE: Jami or wire - Added by Xan VFR over 4 years ago

Danyl, thanks a lot for the link! It's now more clear to me how Jami works.

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