Element
Team chatEncrypted team chat and calls in the browser, on the Matrix network.
Element is a team chat app built on Matrix, an open standard, rather than on one vendor's closed service. Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted, and you can run the whole setup on your own servers. Because Matrix is federated, your people can also talk with users on other Matrix servers.
- Encrypts messages and calls end to end by default.
- Groups rooms into spaces for teams, with access permissions.
- Runs in the browser or as a desktop app on macOS, Windows and Linux.
What people use it for
Give your team private, encrypted chat
Run a Matrix homeserver such as Synapse on your own domain, then host Element Web and point its config.json at that server with default_server_config. Set disable_custom_urls to true so staff can only sign in to your server. Create a space for each team with rooms inside it, and messages are encrypted end to end.
Talk securely with partner organisations
Because Matrix is federated, users on your homeserver can share rooms with people on other Matrix servers, such as a partner's own deployment. Messages and calls in those rooms stay end-to-end encrypted. Device verification lets each person confirm their devices and revoke access for a lost or stolen one.
Offer chat in the browser and on the desktop
Serve Element Web from your web server or the vectorim/element-web Docker image, on a separate domain from the homeserver as the security notes advise. Staff who prefer an app can install Element Desktop for macOS, Windows or Linux. For phones, Element recommends its separate Element X apps for Android and iOS.