Will most likely not be a problem short-term but over time there will be apps that will require a newer OS version than the one you are stuck on and just stop running.
The main reason you should not do that is because of known security issues that are not fixed in your old install. So you are opening yourself up to being more vulnerable to malicious software.
Thank you for revisiting this. It’s hard to stay up-to-date with all projects and I want to avoid anything with known glaring issues.
Got any more info on what you heard? There were problems in their Olm library (certain vulnerabilities with encryption that could be exploited) and they encouraged projects (servers + clients) to switch to a more secure library. Anything else you are thinking of?
To play around you can either use Element X or go to https://app.element.io/#/welcome and use the Element web version. ~~It’s basically the same client. ~~ Then create your account with matrix.org - you should be able to create your own space + sub-spaces + rooms to play around with inviting users, get familiar with permissions, etc. There might be limits with video / voice calls - not sure about the public, free matrix.org server.
If Matrix is a good fit you can then look through the offerings of some of the respected hosters listed here: https://matrix.org/ecosystem/hosting/ Then you don’t have to do everything yourself. They will maintain the infrastructure and your base installation and you can focus on being just the super user / admin (with your own domain) and build your community.
IMO the only real “hurdle” compared to traditional apps is that in addition to your username / password you also get a “recovery key”. That’s the key for encryption and people are not used to having an additional key. If you lose that key you can still log in and see new conversions but you will not be able to read old conversations that were encrypted using the old key. A workaround for your community might be to not enable encryption in your community rooms (when creating a room you can decide if its contents are encrypted or not). IMO totally worth the little bit of extra effort, but yeah - not something users are familiar with.
Edit: as @WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works pointed out Element X does not yet support Space management. You can check out https://matrix.org/ecosystem/clients/ for more clients. I really like Cinny (another web client - just checked and it supports space management). On mobile you can maybe try FluffyChat (not sure about space management - but I think they do as spaces are listed as feature).
Matrix allows you to structure rooms pretty similar to Discord. It’s called a “space” that can then have rooms. Also Sub-spaces with more rooms. You can then manage access by inheritance or really granular on a space / room level. E.g. hidden / public rooms and spaces.
A few notes though:
Matrix is great. Love it’s decentralized nature. Love their e2e encryption capabilities. Although it can be tricky for novice users to grasp the importance of a recovery key backup - in addition to their regular credentials. Also love that many FOSS communities use it too. Makes it easy to join the discussion & get support. I take it over any proprietary protocol & centralized infrastructure any day.
Take a look at GrapheneOS. You can get a second hand Google Pixel and you’ll still not support Alphabet. Hope that GrapheneOS will find a solid hardware alternative in the future. Not sure how far along their talks with their prospective OEM partner are. In terms of security & privacy there just is no alternative. Hopeful about a mainstream Linux based phone in the future. But at the moment it’s the best alternative IMO.
What’s your impression of the recable cables? Are they (as close as a cable can be) “buy it for life”?
Compared to other subscriptions their family plan is very fair. IIRC they even allow commercial use (small companies).
But yeah, I get your sentiment. Still a good option if vendor support is important.
Does anybody have any information on features / licensing?
Looks like it’s basically a more lightweight self-hosting option with better db flexibility compared to the traditional deploy.
Based on the limited information available I assume it has the same feature-set as the old server and requires a license to unlock all features (e.g. TOTP support). For those comparing it to Vaultwarden.
🤦♂️ Sometimes I wonder who those people are who immediately jump to conclusions because they can’t be bothered to read a simple paragraph of text. Me. The answer is - it’s me!
Hopefully something good still came out of it. Maybe as someone else recommended adding your frequently used words to your dictionary will help with word sugggestions.
If you are comfortable using F-Droid or Obtainium I found HeliBoard to be a good keyboard replacement: https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard
Sadly anything not going through the Google Play store is currently under attack: https://f-droid.org/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html
Except if they have a devoted mother
You take that back!!! Nobody takes my comedicles
I maintain several Hetzner VPS (virtual cloud servers). Basic Ubuntu servers with whatever service stack I need. You can easily protect your virtual hardware with the free Hetzner firewall from the cloud admin panel - which will make sure to only let in traffic through the ports you define.
Really competitive pricing and work well. Can not complain.
You don’t need to pay for your certificate. Nowadays Letsencrypt is almost the standard for web certificates, as they are trusted and readily available for free. Really widespread all over the internet.
Not sure what it was. The same settings file worked on other instances before. But in the end it worked today. I think it really was just after 24 hours.
Whatever it was, I could import the settings now. Issue resolved.
Just wanted you to be aware. Not blaming you. It’s an overall shitty situation / outlook.