Delta Chat - decentralized messenger on top of email

Is email outdated? What kind of messenger should I use in order not to get into a difficult situation and not lose contact with friends? Is it possible to use old technologies in a new way?

Some brilliant ideas are so simple that later always bewilderment, why something so obvious was not included in everyday life before? Well, if this has not happened so far, then now - in the era of a new wave of censorship, government blocking of Internet resources and the constant threat of surveillance - perhaps it's time to rethink the approach to electronic correspondence ...

I present to you the DeltaChat project

Delta Chat is a free decentralized messenger for Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, working on top of the oldest E-mail protocol stack . A Windows version is under development.

Of the key features of DeltaChat, it is worth highlighting the following:

• Delta Chat does not have a single server or infrastructure - the application connects to any email server of your choice;
• distributed communication with other domains is carried out through the federation of mail servers;
• any email owner can be the recipient, even if he has not set up Delta Chat yet;
• if there is a possibility for end-to-end encryption of correspondence, the Autocrypt mechanism is used , messages are encrypted automatically (and a lock is shown to the user);
• display of read and delivery status marks and quick notifications function thanks to the Push-IMAP protocol ;
• to protect against spam, by default only messages from the contact list are displayed;
• GPLv3 fully open source application and standards-based protocols

Why use Delta Chat?

Here is how the authors of the messenger themselves answer this question:

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All communication is now carried out through WhatsApp, Instagram or similar applications - well, not all, but quite a lot. There are about six billion email addresses in the world and more than one billion people now use chats instead of email. Why? Chat is the easiest way to communicate.

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This ease is rewarded. Although there are several dangerous traps.

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Here is a thought experiment: imagine whatsapp was already invented in the Weimar Republic. Then the Nazis came to power. Now it’s enough for the Gestapo to visit only a few corporations, and they already know every Jew, official - even if they never used WhatsApp. And they know who is with whom. And with the help of moving profiles, they easily understand where the most suitable place for arrest is. History already knows many such examples ...

Now, there is a real alternative to WhatsApp. It is called “Delta Chat”. Anyone who uses this new application on their mobile phone can already communicate with six billion users - without having to persuade them to switch. Just write letters, but now in the form of a chat with certain people. Delta Chat feels like WhatsApp. If they want the same feeling, they can download Delta Chat on their mobile phone and chat together, like in WhatsApp. But they are not required, the application can be used alone.

Why is Delta Chat better? It has an incomparable advantage over WhatsApp: without having to convince anyone, you can already chat with anyone who has an email address, and not just WhatsApp users. If you want, use Delta Chat. Or not.

FAQ

Does Delta Chat support images, videos, and other attachments?

Yes. In addition to plain text, all email attachments are displayed as separate messages. Outgoing messages will receive attachments as needed automatically.

Does Delta Chat support HTML emails?

Yes. If the incoming e-mail is missing a simple text part, we convert the HTML letters into plain text ourselves. Outgoing messages always use plain text.

Does Delta Chat support end-to-end encryption?

Yes. Delta Chat implements the Autocrypt Level 1 standard and can thus provide end-to-end E2E message encryption using other Autocrypt-enabled applications.

What do I need to do to enable end-to-end encryption?
Nothing.

Delta Chat applications (and other Autocrypt-compatible email applications) exchange the keys necessary for end-to-end encryption automatically as soon as the first messages are sent. After that, all subsequent messages are automatically encrypted. If one of the chat partners uses an email application that is not compatible with Autocrypt, messages are not encrypted until an application compatible with Autocrypt is available again.

If you want to deactivate end-to-end encryption, use the appropriate setting in the Settings / Advanced Settings section.

How to check encryption?

If a small lock is displayed next to the message, this means that the message is encrypted with end-to-end encryption and sent from this sender, and your response will also be protected by end-to-end E2E encryption.

If the lock is not displayed, then the message is protected only by the transport encryption level from the application to the mail server. because you or the sender have disabled end-to-end encryption, or the sender is using an application that does not support end-to-end encryption.

How can I check the sender?

The user profile displays additional information:

You can click “QR Invite code” on Android, and then use the “scan QR-code” button on another device to scan this code. If both devices are connected to the network, they will create a chat channel with each other (if it does not already exist), and the encryption keys will be checked.

To diagnose end-to-end encryption, Delta Chat shows two fingerprints of keys. If they are the same on your device and that of your chat partner, then the connection is secure.

Do you like the idea of ​​this messenger? Or maybe you have been using Delta chat for a long time or something similar? Write in the comments!