This week in #FDroid (TWIF) was delayed to make room for more important announcements, but now it's here:

* #Matrix #Element X builds issues got fixed
* #Fennec is fast again
* #AdGuard for Yandex and Samsung browsers got a bump
* #BreezyWeather beta with #MaterialDesign Expressive
* #SpotTube is back
* Introduction to #Arm #MTE
+ 5 new apps
& 85 more updates

Get the buzzwords: https://f-droid.org/2025/09/19/twif.html

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) has snuck upon us:

* Toot exclusive news, not in TWIF: report of #SessionMessenger update crashing, maybe skip it until we clarify!
* #Matrix bumped room version up to 1100
* #EntePhoto & #ImmichApp improvements
* Big #FlorisBoard features
* #Rethink fixed some bugs
* #KOReader adds digital ink
* #LibreTorrent now #MaterialDesign for You
+ 16 new apps
& 130 more updates

Make room for: https://f-droid.org/2025/08/21/twif.html

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) has snuck upon us:

* Toot exclusive news, not in TWIF: report of #SessionMessenger update crashing, maybe skip it until we clarify!
* #Matrix bumped room version up to 1100
* #EntePhoto & #ImmichApp improvements
* Big #FlorisBoard features
* #Rethink fixed some bugs
* #KOReader adds digital ink
* #LibreTorrent now #MaterialDesign for You
+ 16 new apps
& 130 more updates

Make room for: https://f-droid.org/2025/08/21/twif.html

Hello #Fediverse !

This is < polycule > - a geeky and efficient [matrix] client for power users.

We finally made it to the Fediverse. We focus on a geeky and accessible user interface written in Flutter aiming to target Linux mobile and Android.

If you're curious on past toots, check out @braid's toots on #PolyculeClient !

@matrix

#Introduction#NewHere#matrix #Flutter #LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #accessibility

Hello #Fediverse !

This is < polycule > - a geeky and efficient [matrix] client for power users.

We finally made it to the Fediverse. We focus on a geeky and accessible user interface written in Flutter aiming to target Linux mobile and Android.

If you're curious on past toots, check out @braid's toots on #PolyculeClient !

@matrix

#Introduction#NewHere#matrix #Flutter #LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #accessibility

Hello #Fediverse !

This is < polycule > - a geeky and efficient [matrix] client for power users.

We finally made it to the Fediverse. We focus on a geeky and accessible user interface written in Flutter aiming to target Linux mobile and Android.

If you're curious on past toots, check out @braid's toots on #PolyculeClient !

@matrix

#Introduction#NewHere#matrix #Flutter #LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #accessibility

I'm never going back to Matrix

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/07/im-never-going-back-to-matrix/

I should love Matrix. It is a decentralised, privacy preserving, multi-platform chat tool. Goodbye Slack and your ridiculous free limits. Adiós Discord and your weird gamification. Suck it IRC with your obscure syntax and faint stench of BO. WhatsApp and Telegram can stick their heads in a bucket of lukewarm sick and sing sea shanties! Let's join the future!

The problem is - Matrix is shit. Not just on a protocol level, but on an organisational level as well.

I joined Matrix at FOSDEM - the largest gathering of open source nerds in Europe. We were all encouraged to use it - every talk had its own channel, all the official comms came from there, I was even invited to a top-secret private channel for speaker. This was going to be epic! Viva la rèvölūçïón, right? Wrong.

It was dead. Even among the most seasoned geeks on the planet, most people preferred to use other services like Signal, Telegram, and Slack. Why? Because those other tools actually work.

Matrix has two official Android apps - one of which is old and unsupported, the other is new and doesn't work with many of the basic chat features.

I want to be absolutely clear about this - the company behind Matrix have put out an app which doesn't work with their own product! Lest you think I'm exaggerating, here's a typical view of the official FOSDEM speaker room, using the official Matrix app:

It was embarrassing. People would pipe up in channels and say "this doesn't work" only to be told they were using the wrong app and should go back to the one marked unsupported. So they left, never to return. Even in the large talks, where people were encouraged to use the official Matrix chat, most of the conversation happened on other platforms. It was just too hard to use Matrix.

A few thousands geeks, all used to recompiling their own kernels and participating in the Fediverse, and most thought that Matrix was too much of a faff.

After FOSDEM, I kept the Matrix app on my phone. Occasionally receiving a ping from some long-forgotten channel.

And then, one day, I got hit with the most vile spam. A dozen notifications suddenly appeared on my phone with abuse, torture, and transphobic slurs in them.

You can view the screenshot - but, fair warning, it is grim.

This shouldn't be possible. It doesn't take an expensive team of moderators to add some keyword monitoring. It doesn't take a massive AI model to work out that a stranger shouldn't be able to bombard users with multiple notifications. You don't have to sacrifice your dream of a decentralised future - you just need to care about your users.

This stuff is basic.

I moaned about it on Mastdon and was surprised to receive a private reply from the official Matrix account.

Please do not encourage the spammer by giving them a platform and propagating their spam; you may want to consider deleting your post.

This is classic victim blaming. It is my fault for giving the spammer attention. I am the one who needs to take responsibility and delete the evidence. I shouldn't warn people that Matrix is actively dangerous to use.

Bullshit.

Here's what I expected them to say:

"We're sorry you had such a bad experience on Matrix. Rest assured we're working hard to block these spammers - here's a link to show what we're doing. You can protect your account further by doing x, y and z. Once again, sorry and we hope we can win back your trust."

I'm not saying scrappy open source projects have to hire anodyne corporate communications specialists; they just need to have a little empathy.

But, no, just constant whining about how it isn't their fault and how I am the one who needs to change my behaviour.

This is pretty typical behaviour from the team. Find any post complaining about some aspect of Matrix and you'll see their instant woe-is-me replies.

So I deleted the app. I would have liked to have nuked my account but apparently that's not possible.

I'm not the only one who feels like this. Here's an epic post by Marius, which concludes:

Between the slow performance, the increasing amount of spam, the miserable web client, and the unfinished state of Element X, the Matrix.org network is not something I am willing to continue to recommend, especially to non-technical users. Normal people are simply tolerating it to communicate with idealistic nerds like myself who insist(ed) on using it.

Matrix just isn't focussed on users. I'm not talking about user-experience tweaks like which shade of cornflower blue to use - I mean basic user needs like apps that work and a way to combat spam.

There's a long list of ways the protocol contributes to a poor user experience. It almost seems designed without regard for how it will actually be used.

While the protocol may be conceptually interesting and their intentions noble, I'm not prepared to suffer abuse in the name of technical purity.

Open Source and Open Standards nerds like me ought to know by now that the protocol is the least compelling thing about a service. Who cares if your home is built using only Stallman-blessed tools, when the walls are full of rats?

#foss #Matrix #OpenSource #rant

I'm never going back to Matrix

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/07/im-never-going-back-to-matrix/

I should love Matrix. It is a decentralised, privacy preserving, multi-platform chat tool. Goodbye Slack and your ridiculous free limits. Adiós Discord and your weird gamification. Suck it IRC with your obscure syntax and faint stench of BO. WhatsApp and Telegram can stick their heads in a bucket of lukewarm sick and sing sea shanties! Let's join the future!

The problem is - Matrix is shit. Not just on a protocol level, but on an organisational level as well.

I joined Matrix at FOSDEM - the largest gathering of open source nerds in Europe. We were all encouraged to use it - every talk had its own channel, all the official comms came from there, I was even invited to a top-secret private channel for speaker. This was going to be epic! Viva la rèvölūçïón, right? Wrong.

It was dead. Even among the most seasoned geeks on the planet, most people preferred to use other services like Signal, Telegram, and Slack. Why? Because those other tools actually work.

Matrix has two official Android apps - one of which is old and unsupported, the other is new and doesn't work with many of the basic chat features.

I want to be absolutely clear about this - the company behind Matrix have put out an app which doesn't work with their own product! Lest you think I'm exaggerating, here's a typical view of the official FOSDEM speaker room, using the official Matrix app:

It was embarrassing. People would pipe up in channels and say "this doesn't work" only to be told they were using the wrong app and should go back to the one marked unsupported. So they left, never to return. Even in the large talks, where people were encouraged to use the official Matrix chat, most of the conversation happened on other platforms. It was just too hard to use Matrix.

A few thousands geeks, all used to recompiling their own kernels and participating in the Fediverse, and most thought that Matrix was too much of a faff.

After FOSDEM, I kept the Matrix app on my phone. Occasionally receiving a ping from some long-forgotten channel.

And then, one day, I got hit with the most vile spam. A dozen notifications suddenly appeared on my phone with abuse, torture, and transphobic slurs in them.

You can view the screenshot - but, fair warning, it is grim.

This shouldn't be possible. It doesn't take an expensive team of moderators to add some keyword monitoring. It doesn't take a massive AI model to work out that a stranger shouldn't be able to bombard users with multiple notifications. You don't have to sacrifice your dream of a decentralised future - you just need to care about your users.

This stuff is basic.

I moaned about it on Mastdon and was surprised to receive a private reply from the official Matrix account.

Please do not encourage the spammer by giving them a platform and propagating their spam; you may want to consider deleting your post.

This is classic victim blaming. It is my fault for giving the spammer attention. I am the one who needs to take responsibility and delete the evidence. I shouldn't warn people that Matrix is actively dangerous to use.

Bullshit.

Here's what I expected them to say:

"We're sorry you had such a bad experience on Matrix. Rest assured we're working hard to block these spammers - here's a link to show what we're doing. You can protect your account further by doing x, y and z. Once again, sorry and we hope we can win back your trust."

I'm not saying scrappy open source projects have to hire anodyne corporate communications specialists; they just need to have a little empathy.

But, no, just constant whining about how it isn't their fault and how I am the one who needs to change my behaviour.

This is pretty typical behaviour from the team. Find any post complaining about some aspect of Matrix and you'll see their instant woe-is-me replies.

So I deleted the app. I would have liked to have nuked my account but apparently that's not possible.

I'm not the only one who feels like this. Here's an epic post by Marius, which concludes:

Between the slow performance, the increasing amount of spam, the miserable web client, and the unfinished state of Element X, the Matrix.org network is not something I am willing to continue to recommend, especially to non-technical users. Normal people are simply tolerating it to communicate with idealistic nerds like myself who insist(ed) on using it.

Matrix just isn't focussed on users. I'm not talking about user-experience tweaks like which shade of cornflower blue to use - I mean basic user needs like apps that work and a way to combat spam.

There's a long list of ways the protocol contributes to a poor user experience. It almost seems designed without regard for how it will actually be used.

While the protocol may be conceptually interesting and their intentions noble, I'm not prepared to suffer abuse in the name of technical purity.

Open Source and Open Standards nerds like me ought to know by now that the protocol is the least compelling thing about a service. Who cares if your home is built using only Stallman-blessed tools, when the walls are full of rats?

#foss #Matrix #OpenSource #rant

We've been using #Element / #Matrix in production in our company for 7 years now, maintain secondary emergency channel on #Signal.

Element is not perfect, has some questionable UX calls, some moments of "Why on earth would anyone..." - but truth is, I have far more such moments with #Slack and Element works "well enough."

Also know #Teams from some customers... and yeah, it's also really not great.

Patch of the day

perf: Improve throughput by +1140%, https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-rust-sdk/pull/5411.

It was fun to track it down.

#RustLang#matrix#sqlite #performance

Patch of the day

perf: Improve throughput by +1140%, https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-rust-sdk/pull/5411.

It was fun to track it down.

#RustLang#matrix#sqlite #performance