# chat protocols and programs.
## IRC
* unencrypted by default.
* TLS for client-to-server encryption.
* OTR or blowfish for end-to-end encryption.

irssi has otr support built in in newer versions.

=> xmpp
federated. 
=> https://prosody.im/ prosody xmpp server software. ftw.

=> https://retroshare.cc/ retroshare
p2p. text. lots of other things thrown in. haven't looked in a while.

tox. p2p. text/video/audio

## What I'm wanting:
private (stuff only viewable (ignoring the 
=> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_hole analog loophole
) by people who I explicitly choose to be able to view it)
one to many (so I don't have to resend an encrypted message to each person I want to see it)
capable of doing text/pictures/audio/video
has to run on both android (preferably installable through F-Droid) and desktop (linux AND windows preferably)

## What about IRC?
one-to-many
### Why it doesn't fit what I want
no audio/video.

## What about:
=> https://tox.chat/ tox?
p2p, encrypted, capable of text/picture/audio/video.
### Why it doesn't fit what I want
The android app for it
=> https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.zoffcc.applications.trifa/ TRiFA
can't do group-chat which would be used for the one-to-many requirement.
edit: it /can/ do group-chat. don't remember why I put this here.
maybe it was that it couldn't do group voice-chat? can it?

## What about email?
federated, encrypted if using PGP, any file can be sent over email.
### Why it doesn't fit what I want
one-to-many doesn't work very well. no audio or video.

## What about:
=> https://retroshare.cc/ retroshare?
p2p, encrypted, capable of text/pictures/audio/video
### Why it doesn't fit what I want
the android app tries to share user keys as retroshare:// URLs which, when pasted into the desktop program, are considered invalid.
android app doesn't have an "add contact" button on the "contacts" view selectable from the main hamburger menu...
there's a "paste link" (wat?) option. what type of links? retroshare:// links?
didn't find an option to export my ID as a URL/link from the desktop version of retroshare.

## What about aTalk?
xmpp so federated, end to end encryption (OMEMO), capable of text/pictures/audio/video
### Why I'm not using aTalk
I've never goten aTalk to voice and video chat with anything other than another aTalk.

## What about telegram?
IM, VoIP, multiplatform (android, ios, windows, mac OS, GNU+linux), e2e encryption.
### Why I'm not using telegram
"Telegram accounts are tied to telephone numbers and are verified by SMS."
I could use something like textnow to make an account anyway, but even after that
I don't want vendor-locked-in chat.

## What about signal?
IM, e2e encryption
### Why I'm not using signal
pretty much the same shit as telegram

## What about mumble?
no video, but works good for the audio part of the requiement. phone and desktop software (linux /and/ windows) works well together.
### Why I'm not using mumble
I am using mumble. I might have to rething the requiement that what I'm looking for needs to do all of the things I need at once.

## What about discord?
does text, does audio, no video
### Why I'm not using discor
discord says in their privacy policy they're collecting everything and they can do whatever they want with it.

## What about matrix?
does text
### Why I'm not using matrix
I am, but it is a big pile of chat over HTTP, and the only client I was able to get working was
=> https://app.element.io/

## What about keybase/zoom?
video/audio, text, "encrypted"
### What's wrong with keybase?
I can't run my own server and I don't want to trust some random company.

## What about...
I'll have to think of more things and put them here.