Conversations

From MattWiki
For other uses, see Conversations (disambiguation).
Conversations
Developer(s) Daniel Gultsch[1]
Initial release March 15, 2014 (2014-03-15)[1]
Stable release
2.3.10+pcr / January 11, 2019;
5 years ago
 (2019-01-11)
Repository Github
Written in Java
Type XMPP Client
License GPLv3[2]
Website https://conversations.im/
XMPP Portal
XMPP Servers: Servers Category
XMPP Clients: Clients Category
User Guides: User Guide Category


Conversations is a Jabber/XMPP client for Android 4.0+ smartphones that has been optimized to provide a unique mobile experience.[3] Easy to use, reliable, battery friendly. With built-in support for images, group chats and e2e encryption.[1]

Development is focused on secure communication and implementation of XMPP extensions that are important for mobile usage. Specialist publications praised the decentralized and open transmission network and simple, intuitive usage with a workflow that is familiar from other applications. It is regarded as a serious attempt to improve the usability of XMPP-based messaging to a competitive level.[4]

History

On January 24, 2014, first code was submitted to the public repository.[5] The first official version 0.1 was published on March 24, 2014[6] when encrypted messengers for mobile devices gained a lot of popularity in the wake of the Snowden disclosures (June 2013) and Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp (February 2014).[7] It soon garnered some positive reviews.[4][8] In spring 2014 it was included into Google Play and starting with version 0.1.3 from April 6, 2014 into the alternative Android software repository F-Droid.[9] Since version 0.2 from May 12 picture messages (file transfers, as plain-text data or OpenPGP-encrypted) are supported, as of version 0.4 (June 30) also OTR-encrypted.[10][11] Version 1.0 followed on February 1, 2015.[12] Andreas Straub participated in the Google Summer of Code 2015 on behalf of Conversations.[13][14] This produced drafts for a new end-to-end encryption standard (OMEMO) that were submitted to the XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) for standardisation.[15][16] In October 2015 the ChatSecure project announced that it is going to base the Android version of its messenger on the Conversations core and to be working on an iOS implementation of OMEMO.[17]

Features

  • Send Images
  • Read Markers
  • Dynamic history loading
  • Conferences
  • Low impact on battery
  • Contact pictures

Implemented XEPs

Conversations masters the following XEP's, short for XMPP Extension Protocol, the official extensions of the XMPP protocol:[18]

OMEMO

OEMEO Multi-End Message and Object encryption is an XMPP Extension Protocol (XEP) for secure multi-client end-to-end encryption. It is an open standard based on a Double Ratchet and PEP which can be freely used and implemented by anyone. The protocol has been audited by a third party.[19]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gultsch, Daniel. "Conversations (Jabber / XMPP)". Google Play. Google Inc. Retrieved 2016-01-20. 
  2. Daniel Gultsch (2014-03-24). "GNU General Public License v3.0". Conversations Licenses. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-04-13. 
  3. "Conversations Website". Conversations Website. 2017-04-13. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2017-04-13. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Hilzinger, Marcel (2014-05-15). "Conversation: OpenSource Instant-Messenger im Holo-Design und mit Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung". Android User. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  5. Gultsch, Daniel (2014-01-24). "initial commit". GitHub. Conversations. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  6. Gultsch, Daniel (2014-03-24). "Release 0.1". GitHub. Conversations. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  7. Frosch, Tilman; Mainka, Christian; Bader, Christoph; Bergsma, Florian; Schwenk, Jörg; Holz, Thorsten. "How Secure is TextSecure?" (PDF). Cryptology ePrint Archive. Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security, Ruhr University Bochum. 
  8. Ehlert, David (2014-03-25). "Conversations – WhatsApp Alternative #9: XMPP im Google Style". N-Droid Magazin. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  9. F-Droid maintainers (2014-04-13). "eu.siacs.conversations". F-Droid wiki (Wiki). Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  10. Thom, Daniel (2014-05-14). "Update zum Beitrag: Conversations: Neuer Jabber/XMPP Client für Android". Netbunker (Blog). Retrieved 2016-01-20. 
  11. Gultsch, Daniel. "Changelog". GitHub. Conversations. Retrieved 2016-01-20. 
  12. Gultsch, Daniel (2015-02-01). "Release 1.0". GitHub. Conversations. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  13. "Summer of Code 2015". XMPP Wiki (Wiki). Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  14. "Project details: Axolotl support for Conversations". Google Summer of Code 2015 site. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  15. Straub, Andreas (25 October 2015). "OMEMO Encryption". XMPP Standards Foundation website. Retrieved 4 January 2016. 
  16. Gultsch, Daniel (2 September 2015). "OMEMO Encrypted Jingle File Transfer". XMPP Standards Foundation website. Retrieved 4 January 2016. 
  17. Ballinger, Chris (2015-10-02). "ChatSecure, Conversations and Zom". ChatSecure blog (Blog). ChatSecure. Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
  18. "Conversations/docs/XEPs.md". GitHub. September 18, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2017. 
  19. "OMEMO Multi-End Message and Object Encryption". Conversations Website. 2017-04-13. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2017-04-13.