In comparison to other privacy focused instant messagers, i unfortunately dont have experience with hardly any of the other main ones. the only one i’ve used was matrix, any other comparisons i bring up here are what ive seen while reading about deltachat. also, i dont want to yuck on anyone else’s yum. sorry if ive misrepresented any of these other services

i’ll start off with matrix: i think matrix is great, with the caveat that trying to get a normie set up on it was tear inducing. this could have been a skill issue on my part, but again while im not a computer toucher i would still call myself a computer admirer lol. quite frankly if im struggling with something it might be a little too hard for the average person to use (although if someone wants to throw some guide at me that explains why actually im a moron and it shouldnt break like that i’ll take it ). i also still to this day do not understand why some messages still refuse to decrypt even after i re-verify my session. i’m not sure if this is just a problem with forward secrecy or a problem with the specific server i was using but whatever it was i have yet to have any issues like that despite setting up more devices and profiles than i ever even attempted on matrix. something someone else pointed out is the way PMs in matrix work are really fucking weird, you invite someone to a “room” and then both people have to “join” the room which can be confusing to a normie when that pops up at the bottom. it’s been stupendously easy with deltachat so far, im either in person and can scan a QR code or i send someone a link through something like imessage (why i want to use this instead of imessage is a story for another day for how long this fuckin post is). one of the biggest advantages that matrix has that deltachat lacks is the moderation/admin powers.
for signal: the 3 big problems with signal are that is requires/strongly suggests (i dont remember which one at this second) you use your phonenumber, which is a security headache. it’s also a centralized server in the US that isnt “truly” open source. i dont think signal has the same problem as matrix with decryption errors although im not really sure whether what is causing those problems on matrix has anything to do with forward secrecy or not. anyways, an argument i’ve seen made is that since signal uses your phone number and associates it with some meta data in their server, it would actually be easier for cops to get you and your contacts asses, because its easier to get to that meta data by raiding signal’s central servers, and if the cops are paying attention you to the point where they’re raiding a server looking for stuff like that they dont even really need the contents of the messages. up to you how much you agree with that you suppose.
for xmpp: supposed to be much easier to use deltachat. like i said cant speak to this because i havent used xmpp. however i have seen people say xmpp is the most similar to deltachat and i’ve seen more people say it’s flat out better. however they didnt really elaborate and from my reading it really seems like deltachat is way different and way better than 2+ years ago with the invention of chatmail servers and the new web app format so im not certain they’re giving it a fair chance. i do know the web app format is supported by some xmpp clients already. xmpp is supposed to be better at sharing large files
for the P2P stuff like briar/simplex: i know the least about P2P. i know a big problem with it was that it’s very ephemeral and if no one is one to hear you your message can get eaten etc etc? idk i just remember thinking it sounded like it wasnt for me. I dont keep up with their development so i dont know what solutions have been proposed for this. i will say though, i’m not technically knowledgeable enough to check their work but if they’re to be believed you can pretty much replicate this experience using the new web app format? of course, that’s not to say this web app is going to have any where near the same kind of features for a top tier p2p chat service, but its there if you absolutely need it and is a base that devs can build on. unless someone informs otherwise i think is a strong point in deltachat’s favor for its versatility. i dont think any of the p2p clients have the ability to use this web app yet, although i dont know why they couldnt be (grain of salt not a computer toucher yadayadayada)

i’m really excited to see where this project goes in the next couple of years as long as the current maintainers maintain their steam. like i said, many of the cons ive noticed in my day of use/reading/testing are things ive read mastodon tweets/lemmy comments/forum posts that they’re planning on addressing it. quite frankly there’s other stuff i could go on about, how these chatmail servers have dealt with the ever present spam problem inherent with servers but this post is already a monster. if you want to talk to people with more experience there is an active forum at https://support.delta.chat/, devs have an active mastodon account at https://chaos.social/@delta/114403352561206786, and the arcanechat dev has a community for his android client [email protected]

why signal leaks more metadata than deltachat
comparison of different messaging services. i think a couple of the boxes arent fully accurate for deltachat (for instance, server auto deletes messages)
deltachat has gone through 6 security audits, most recent was dec 2024
calls integrated with phone app are planned
lack of perfect forward secrecy not a big deal. if your encyrption key gets leaked, your messages are going to be read. PFS only matters when a device is seized while unlocked. may also be added in the future
signal (and others) do not protect againt network attacks against group chats
since signal exposes more meta data than deltachat (if a chatmail server is used), signal is actually higher risk. this is especially true if you and your contacts use separate temporary profiles when you are doing things that may bring state repression
proof of concept of web app that can handle voice and video chat over p2p, although it is not actively developed from what i can tell
devs say they are working on a way to hide who sends and receives a message
deltachat can sometimes deliver messages in difficult situations when others cant like the power outage in spain recently
“chatmail is a federated instant messaging relay more.than am email server” from the devs
article hyping up the web apps (they got me ngl its seems so cool)
article showcasing web apps p2p functionality
article explaining the new chatmail servers. notice they havent even officially been out for a year!!!