Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
XMPP remains the open standard for truly independent digital communication.
The author argues that digital communication tools should be treated as infrastructure, requiring open standards for interoperability and vendor independence. XMPP, 25 years old, is presented as a true standard developed through the IETF and XSF, unlike Matrix which is controlled by a single company (Element). Modern XMPP clients support features like end-to-end encryption (OMEMO), emoji reactions, and cross-device sync. The protocol has outlasted proprietary platforms and is used by NATO and intelligence agencies, providing resilience that venture-funded alternatives lack.
What commenters are saying
Commenters confirm XMPP's use in niche contexts: friends-and-family messaging, military and intelligence agencies (NATO's JChat), and as a backbone for push notifications in Android. Some note adoption challenges, including spam on public addresses and client incompatibilities due to varying XEP support (e.g., OMEMO versions). A split exists between those who praise XMPP's longevity and federation and those who find it irrelevant or hard to use with non-technical contacts. Several recount its decline after Google Talk and Facebook Chat dropped federation.