| Element | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
 Screenshot of Element 1.12.7 | |
| Other names |
|
| Original author | Vector Creations Limited |
| Developer | Element Creations Limited |
| Initial release | July 2016 (Beta) |
| Written in | JavaScript,Objective-C,Swift,Java,Kotlin |
| Platform | Windows,macOS,Linux,Android,iOS,Web platform |
| Available in | 25 languages[1] |
List of languages Basque, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English (UK), English (US), Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish | |
| Type | VoIP communications,instant messaging,Videoconferences,[2]social media, and other App Integrations |
| License | AGPLv3 or later[3] GPLv3 or later[4] Element Commercial License[5] |
| Website | element |
| Repository | |
Element (formerlyRiot andVector[6]) is afree and open-source softwareinstant messaging client implementing theMatrix protocol.[7]
Element was originally known as Vector when it was released frombeta[8][9] in 2016.[10] The app was renamed to Riot in September of the same year.[11]
In 2016 the first implementation of the Matrix end-to-end encryption was implemented and rolled out as a beta to users.[12] In May 2020, the developers announced enabling end-to-end encryption by default in Riot for new non-public conversations.[13]
In April 2019, a new application was released on the Google Play Store in response tocryptographic keys used to sign the Riot Android app being compromised.[14]
In July 2020, Riot was renamed to Element.[15]
In January 2021, Element was briefly suspended from Google Play Store in response to a report of user-submitted abusive content on Element's default server,matrix.org.[16][17] Element staff rectified the issue and the app was brought back to the Play Store.[17]
In May 2023,India's government banned 14 messaging apps, including Element. The ban was enacted on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, citing terrorism inJammu and Kashmir as the main cause.[18]
Element is built with the Matrix React SDK,[19] which is aReact-basedsoftware development kit to ease the development ofMatrix clients. Element is reliant on web technologies and usesElectron for bundling the app forWindows,macOS andLinux. The Android and iOS clients are developed and distributed with their respective platform tools.
On Android the app is available both in theGoogle Play Store[20] and the free-software onlyF-Droid[21] Archives, with minor modifications. For instance, the F-Droid version does not contain the proprietaryGoogle Cloud Messaging plug-in.[22]
Element supportsend-to-end encryption,[23] private and public groups, sharing of files between users, voice and video calls, and other collaborative features with help of bots and widgets. It is available as aweb application that can be accessed through any modernweb browser, as desktop apps forWindows,Mac, andLinux, and as a mobile app forAndroid andiOS.[2][24] Element changed its license fromApache 2.0 toAGPLv3 andGPLv3 withcontributor license agreement (CLA) and with a separate Element Commercial License.[25][26]
Element is able to bridge other communications into the app via Matrix,[7] includingIRC,Slack,Telegram,Jitsi Meet and others.[27][28] Also, it integrates voice and video peer-to-peer and group chats viaWebRTC.
Element supportsend-to-end encryption (E2EE) of both one-to-one and group chats.[2][28]
Media compared Element toSlack,WhatsApp and other instant messaging clients.[8][9][29]
In 2017, German computer magazineGolem.de called Element (then Riot) and Matrix server "mature" and "feature-rich", but criticized itskey authentication at the time to be not user-friendly for communicatees owning multiple devices. A co-founder of the project, Matthew Hodgson, assured the key verification process was a "placeholder" solution to work on.[29] In 2020, Element added key cross-signing to make the verification process simpler, and enabled end-to-end encryption by default.[13]
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