We engage with decentralization protocols a lot (many nerds love to) but make no mistake: in the end, the app needs to work and be easy to use. #deltachat is a cross-platform FOSS offering, with guaranteed security levels, close to user expectations ... major factors in driving adoption!
True, the email system is not necessarily better than #xmpp ... but please compare with http://chatmail.at which is fast, ephemeral and secure, with delta inherently being a peer-to-peer E2EE messenger :)
@delta Another interesting choice of using email protocol is that on restricted networks where only mail and web is allowed (only ports open at the firewall levels to go out of the local network), chatmail will work while e2e messenger using ports closed at the firewall level won't.
Having multiple options at disposal is the most resilient strategy. :)
@sm4llth1ng yesss exactly. also the government probably relies heavily on mail communication (even in crisis moments), so we slip in under this channel even if other systems are blocked...
@delta are there plans to implement forward secrecy to delta chat in the future?
@delta 🔗 https://chaos.social/users/delta/statuses/116020943524941913
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It took a while but it's shaping up nicely 😊 Post-Quantum Cryptography and Reliable Deletion, better known as Forward Secrecy, are going to become available in 2026 in #deltachat. For more details, including the recent #fosdem26 talk recording:
@delta for a new profile… do you recommend the ninerun server?
I realize it’s not quite like choosing a mastodon instance but still… it would be nice to have a bit of context for who runs them, how they are funded, how long they will be around for… but maybe chat mail is not there yet or maybe I’m overthinking the use case 😅
@scott you can check nine's privacy policies. or those of any of the other relays on https://chatmail.at/relays
Delta chat is designed to be secure against a fully compromised server. A hostile operator should not be able to interject messages or impersonate. We want to commission a security audit on this in 2026
@scott you may check nine's privacy policies. or those of any of the other relays on https://chatmail.at/relays
Delta chat is designed to be secure against a fully compromised server. A hostile operator should not be able to interject messages or impersonate. We want to commission a security audit on this in 2026. So to answer: maybe don't worry and choose any on the public list and nine only if in doubt
@delta That’s helpful, thanks.
I wasn’t so worried about the security side but was thinking of longevity. Like if the server disappears tomorrow or goes offline… then I have to make a new totally separate account on another server, and re-establish any connections with people I’m chatting with, right?
@scott no, you can go to advanced setting and add another relay and start sending from there. So you can have more than one relay for receiving messages and sending messages. Your chat partners will not care which relay you use. In a few months there will be increased support for multiple relays such that if any works, chatting succeeds, and there is no central point of failure.
@delta wow wow wow thank you! 💪😁
@delta One thing I don't understand: how can you send email when you don't store it for long. This means messages are only stored in the client yes, but it shortly stored by the server until it's collected by the client?
#deltachat
@hanscees yes, email servers are used as relays (chatmail) only. They are store-and-forward servers just like signals hyperscale servers (Amazon, google, ...)
Delta single device users will delete the server side copy after receiving the message. For multi device setups messages are queued for 20-40 days, and then unconditionally deleted on relays.
@delta Thank you for explaining!
I already have a mailserver at home so on ipv4 SMTP ports are taken. I can set up an ipv6 server. Is there a way, perhaps with dns, to let other servers / clients know to use other ports if they only speak ipv4?
