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Element
A secure and interoperable messaging and collaboration tool using Matrix open standard,to provide decentralized, private, and enterprise-grade communication. Where as traditional commercial tools mostly rely on centralized servers and proprietary protocols, Element uses the Matrix protocol to decentralized real-time communication where users retain full control over their data and its security.
Why Choose Element Over Commercial Tools
A reason businesses might choose to move from commercial communication tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp to Element is the emphasis on data sovereignty and security. Element is built with secure by design principles, it has end-to-end encryption that keeps only intended recipients with access to messages they need to see. This is important as concerns over cyber threats, privacy breaches, and security vulnerabilities in other popular communication tools grow. Organizations can deploy Element in air-gapped or isolated network environments, a feature for companies and governments with stringent security requirements. Element also supports interoperability through federation, allowing different systems and organizations to communicate without vendor lock-in, a freedom not usually available in proprietary platforms.
Open Source Licensing Model
Regarding licensing, Element is open source software licensed under the AGPLv3. The AGPL license is a strong copyleft license that generally requires any modifications to the software to be released under the same license if the software is used over a network. This make sue that contributions remain open and the ecosystem keep going. For companies that want to develop proprietary extensions or prefer not to open source their customizations, Element offers a commercial licensing option known as the Build subscription. This commercial license exempts them from AGPL obligations and still supporting the project financially. Prior to this, Element’s code was licensed under Apache 2.0, but the switch to AGPLv3 helps sustain the long-term health of the code base and community.
Self-Hosting Element: Control and Sovereignty Over Your Data
Element is self-hostable, which is a big advantage for organizations focused on controlling their infrastructure and data. Self-hosting means companies can operate their own Matrix homeservers and run the Element client in their environments, whether on-premises or in private clouds. Self-hosting allows customization and integration with existing corporate systems. Detailed guides and Docker-based deployments exist to facilitate setting up the full Matrix and Element stack, including reverse proxies and TURN servers for media relay in voice and video calls.
Security and Privacy
The security features include end-to-end encryption, decentralized architecture to reduce single points of failure, and air-gapped deployment support for isolated environments. These features protect against espionage, cyber threats, and unauthorized access. The platform also enforces strong privacy controls and rules-based communication between multiple departments or organizations, making it great for high-trust environments like government institutions.
==Interoperability and Federation~~ The foundation on the Matrix open standard enables vendor-agnostic federation, meaning organizations can use various Matrix-compatible solutions and still communicate with each other. This vendor neutrality allows businesses to avoid the risks and restrictions of vendor lock-in something common in proprietary communication platforms.
Commercial Licensing and Support Options
Element is open source, it offers commercial licensing options such as the Build subscription for enterprises looking for proprietary customization or advanced support. This model allows organizations to benefit from open-source innovation at the same time obtain professional services, enterprise-grade support, and licensing that fits proprietary needs.
Some comparisons
Element compares as a secure, decentralized messaging and collaboration platform that is not quite the same and has some trade-offs compared to Signal, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Slack.
Take Signal, which is a focused private messaging app relying on end-to-end encryption and simplicity, Element is more of a full communication suite. It supports secure messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, as well as collaboration integrations like Etherpad real-time document editing and widgets. Element’s open standard Matrix foundation is decentralized hosting, federation, and interoperability with other Matrix networks. Signal, is widely known for its privacy and encryption, is centralized and does not support federation or complex collaboration features. Signal also limits users to one mobile device and uses phone numbers for identity, whereas Element can support multiple devices and user-managed home servers.
When Compared to Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, Element provides encrypted communication with decentralized architecture, reducing risks of single points of failure and vendor lock-in. Google Meet and Teams are proprietary commercial platforms integrated into bigger office productivity ecosystems, giving detailed interfaces and extensive enterprise management features but with centralized data control. Element’s self-hosting capability and open-source model is good for those organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and control over communications infrastructure.
Telegram is a popular messaging platform with features like large group chats and bots but has faced criticism over encryption implementation and privacy due to its proprietary protocol and server architecture. Element focuses on open standards and strong end-to-end encryption, making it good for users needing verifiable security and decentralized control.
Slack is primarily a work collaboration tool oriented to team chat, file sharing, and integrations with apps and workflows. It is proprietary and centralized, with no native end-to-end encryption or decentralized federation like Element provides. Element can integrate with Slack and other systems via Matrix bridges, but its open-source and self-hosting features give businesses a level of data control and interoperability Slack cannot match.
It is a really good tool we use it daily across many projects we work on here at mintarc. https://element.io/en/download