337 lines
17 KiB
Markdown
337 lines
17 KiB
Markdown
# Conversations
|
||
|
||
Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging
|
||
|
||
[](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siacs.conversations) [](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WD35AAC/)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
## Design principles
|
||
|
||
* Be as beautiful and easy to use as possible without sacrificing security or
|
||
privacy
|
||
* Rely on existing, well established protocols (XMPP)
|
||
* Do not require a Google Account or specifically Google Cloud Messaging (GCM)
|
||
* Require as few permissions as possible
|
||
|
||
## Features
|
||
|
||
* End-to-end encryption with either [OTR](https://otr.cypherpunks.ca/) or [OpenPGP](http://www.openpgp.org/about_openpgp/)
|
||
* Send and receive images as well as other kind of files
|
||
* Share your location via an external [plug-in](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siacs.conversations.sharelocation)
|
||
* Indication when your contact has read your message
|
||
* Intuitive UI that follows Android Design guidelines
|
||
* Pictures / Avatars for your Contacts
|
||
* Syncs with desktop client
|
||
* Conferences (with support for bookmarks)
|
||
* Address book integration
|
||
* Multiple accounts / unified inbox
|
||
* Very low impact on battery life
|
||
|
||
|
||
### XMPP Features
|
||
|
||
Conversations works with every XMPP server out there. However XMPP is an
|
||
extensible protocol. These extensions are standardized as well in so called
|
||
XEP's. Conversations supports a couple of these to make the overall user
|
||
experience better. There is a chance that your current XMPP server does not
|
||
support these extensions; therefore to get the most out of Conversations you
|
||
should consider either switching to an XMPP server that does or — even better —
|
||
run your own XMPP server for you and your friends. These XEP's are:
|
||
|
||
* [XEP-0065: SOCKS5 Bytestreams](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0065.html) (or mod_proxy65). Will be used to transfer
|
||
files if both parties are behind a firewall (NAT).
|
||
* [XEP-0163: Personal Eventing Protocol](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0163.html) for avatars
|
||
* [XEP-0191: Blocking command](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0191.html) lets you blacklist spammers or block contacts
|
||
without removing them from your roster.
|
||
* [XEP-0198: Stream Management](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0198.html) allows XMPP to survive small network outages and
|
||
changes of the underlying TCP connection.
|
||
* [XEP-0280: Message Carbons](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0280.html) which automatically syncs the messages you send to
|
||
your desktop client and thus allows you to switch seamlessly from your mobile
|
||
client to your desktop client and back within one conversation.
|
||
* [XEP-0237: Roster Versioning](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0237.html) mainly to save bandwidth on poor mobile connections
|
||
* [XEP-0313: Message Archive Management](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0313.html) synchronize message history with the
|
||
server. Catch up with messages that were sent while Conversations was
|
||
offline.
|
||
* [XEP-0352: Client State Indication](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0352.html) lets the server know whether or not
|
||
Conversations is in the background. Allows the server to save bandwidth by
|
||
withholding unimportant packages.
|
||
* [XEP-xxxx: HTTP File Upload](http://xmpp.org/extensions/inbox/http-upload.html) allows you to share files in conferences and with offline
|
||
contacts. Requires an [additional component](https://github.com/siacs/HttpUploadComponent)
|
||
on your server.
|
||
|
||
## Team
|
||
|
||
#### Head of Development
|
||
|
||
* [Daniel Gultsch](https://github.com/inputmice)
|
||
|
||
#### Code Contributions
|
||
|
||
(In order of appearance)
|
||
|
||
* [Rene Treffer](https://github.com/rtreffer) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3Artreffer+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [Andreas Straub](https://github.com/strb) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3Astrb+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [Alethea Butler](https://github.com/alethea) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3Aalethea+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [M. Dietrich](https://github.com/emdete) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3Aemdete+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [betheg](https://github.com/betheg) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3Abetheg+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [Sam Whited](https://github.com/SamWhited) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3ASamWhited+is%3Amerged))
|
||
* [BrianBlade](https://github.com/BrianBlade) ([PRs](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+author%3ABrianBlade+is%3Amerged))
|
||
|
||
#### Logo
|
||
* [Ilia Rostovtsev](https://github.com/qooob) (Progress)
|
||
* [Diego Turtulici](http://efesto.eigenlab.org/~diesys) (Original)
|
||
* [fiaxh](https://github.com/fiaxh) (OMEMO)
|
||
|
||
#### Translations
|
||
Translations are managed on [Transifex](https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/conversations/)
|
||
|
||
## FAQ
|
||
|
||
### General
|
||
|
||
#### How do I install Conversations?
|
||
|
||
Conversations is entirely open source and licensed under GPLv3. So if you are a
|
||
software developer you can check out the sources from GitHub and use ant to
|
||
build your apk file.
|
||
|
||
The more convenient way — which not only gives you automatic updates but also
|
||
supports the further development of Conversations — is to buy the App in the
|
||
Google [Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siacs.conversations).
|
||
|
||
Buying the App from the Play Store will also give you access to our [beta test](#beta).
|
||
|
||
#### I don't have a Google Account but I would still like to make a contribution
|
||
|
||
I accept donations over PayPal, Bitcoin and Flattr. For donations via PayPal you
|
||
can use the email address `donate@siacs.eu` or the button below.
|
||
|
||
[](https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CW3SYT3KG5PDL)
|
||
|
||
**Disclaimer:** I'm not a huge fan of PayPal and their business policies. For
|
||
larger contributions please get in touch with me beforehand and we can talk
|
||
about bank transfer (SEPA).
|
||
|
||
My Bitcoin Address is: `1NxSU1YxYzJVDpX1rcESAA3NJki7kRgeeu`
|
||
|
||
|
||
[](https://flattr.com/submit/auto?user_id=inputmice&url=http%3A%2F%2Fconversations.siacs.eu&title=Conversations&tags=github&category=software)
|
||
|
||
#### How do I create an account?
|
||
|
||
XMPP, like email, is a federated protocol which means that there is not one
|
||
company you can create an 'official XMPP account' with. Instead there are
|
||
hundreds, or even thousands, of provider out there. To find one use a web search
|
||
engine of your choice. Or maybe your university has one. Or you can run your
|
||
own. Or ask a friend to run one. Once you've found one, you can use
|
||
Conversations to create an account. Just select 'register new account on server'
|
||
within the create account dialog.
|
||
|
||
#### Where can I set up a custom hostname / port
|
||
Conversations will automatically look up the SRV records for your domain name
|
||
which can point to any hostname port combination. If your server doesn’t provide
|
||
those please contact your admin and have them read
|
||
[this](http://prosody.im/doc/dns#srv_records)
|
||
|
||
#### Conversations doesn't work for me. Where can I get help?
|
||
|
||
You can join our conference room on `conversations@conference.siacs.eu`.
|
||
A lot of people in there are able to answer basic questions about the usage of
|
||
Conversations or can provide you with tips on running your own XMPP server. If
|
||
you found a bug or your app crashes please read the Developer / Report Bugs
|
||
section of this document.
|
||
|
||
#### I need professional support with Conversations or setting up my server
|
||
|
||
I'm available for hire. Contact me at `inputmice@siacs.eu`.
|
||
|
||
#### How does the address book integration work?
|
||
|
||
The address book integration was designed to protect your privacy. Conversations
|
||
neither uploads contacts from your address book to your server nor fills your
|
||
address book with unnecessary contacts from your online roster. If you manually
|
||
add a Jabber ID to your phones address book Conversations will use the name and
|
||
the profile picture of this contact. To make the process of adding Jabber IDs to
|
||
your address book easier you can click on the profile picture in the contact
|
||
details within Conversations. This will start an "add to address book" intent
|
||
with the JID as the payload. This doesn't require Conversations to have write
|
||
permissions on your address book but also doesn't require you to copy/paste a
|
||
JID from one app to another.
|
||
|
||
#### I get 'delivery failed' on my messages
|
||
|
||
If you get delivery failed on images it's probably because the recipient lost
|
||
network connectivity during reception. In that case you can try it again at a
|
||
later time.
|
||
|
||
For text messages the answer to your question is a little bit more complex.
|
||
When you see 'delivery failed' on text messages, it is always something that is
|
||
being reported by the server. The most common reason for this is that the
|
||
recipient failed to resume a connection. When a client loses connectivity for a
|
||
short time the client usually has a five minute window to pick up that
|
||
connection again. When the client fails to do so because the network
|
||
connectivity is out for longer than that all messages sent to that client will
|
||
be returned to the sender resulting in a delivery failed.
|
||
|
||
Other less common reasons are that the message you sent didn't meet some
|
||
criteria enforced by the server (too large, too many). Another reason could be
|
||
that the recipient is offline and the server doesn't provide offline storage.
|
||
|
||
Usually you are able to distinguish between these two groups in the fact that
|
||
the first one happens always after some time and the second one happens almost
|
||
instantly.
|
||
|
||
#### Where can I see the status of my contacts? How can I set a status or priority?
|
||
|
||
Statuses are a horrible metric. Setting them manually to a proper value rarely
|
||
works because users are either lazy or just forget about them. Setting them
|
||
automatically does not provide quality results either. Keyboard or mouse
|
||
activity as indicator for example fails when the user is just looking at
|
||
something (reading an article, watching a movie). Furthermore automatic setting
|
||
of status always implies an impact on your privacy (are you sure you want
|
||
everybody in your contact list to know that you have been using your computer at
|
||
4am‽).
|
||
|
||
In the past status has been used to judge the likelihood of whether or not your
|
||
messages are being read. This is no longer necessary. With Chat Markers
|
||
(XEP-0333, supported by Conversations since 0.4) we have the ability to **know**
|
||
whether or not your messages are being read. Similar things can be said for
|
||
priorities. In the past priorities have been used (by servers, not by clients!)
|
||
to route your messages to one specific client. With carbon messages (XEP-0280,
|
||
supported by Conversations since 0.1) this is no longer necessary. Using
|
||
priorities to route OTR messages isn't practical either because they are not
|
||
changeable on the fly. Metrics like last active client (the client which sent
|
||
the last message) are much better.
|
||
|
||
Unfortunately these modern replacements for legacy XMPP features are not widely
|
||
adopted. However Conversations should be an instant messenger for the future and
|
||
instead of making Conversations compatible with the past we should work on
|
||
implementing new, improved technologies and getting them into other XMPP clients
|
||
as well.
|
||
|
||
Making these status and priority optional isn't a solution either because
|
||
Conversations is trying to get rid of old behaviours and set an example for
|
||
other clients.
|
||
|
||
#### Conversations is missing a certain feature
|
||
|
||
I'm open for new feature suggestions. You can use the [issue tracker][issues] on
|
||
GitHub. Please take some time to browse through the issues to see if someone
|
||
else already suggested it. Be assured that I read each and every ticket. If I
|
||
like it I will leave it open until it's implemented. If I don't like it I will
|
||
close it (usually with a short comment). If I don't comment on an feature
|
||
request that's probably a good sign because this means I agree with you.
|
||
Commenting with +1 on either open or closed issues won't change my mind, nor
|
||
will it accelerate the development.
|
||
|
||
#### You closed my feature request but I want it really really badly
|
||
|
||
Just write it yourself and send me a pull request. If I like it I will happily
|
||
merge it if I don't at least you and like minded people get to enjoy it.
|
||
|
||
#### I need a feature and I need it now!
|
||
|
||
I am available for hire. Contact me via XMPP: `inputmice@siacs.eu`
|
||
|
||
### Security
|
||
|
||
#### Why are there two end-to-end encryption methods and which one should I choose?
|
||
|
||
In most cases OTR should be the encryption method of choice. It works out of the
|
||
box with most contacts as long as they are online. However PGP can, in some
|
||
cases, (message carbons to multiple clients) be more flexible.
|
||
|
||
#### How do I use OpenPGP
|
||
|
||
Before you continue reading you should note that the OpenPGP support in
|
||
Conversations is experimental. This is not because it will make the app unstable
|
||
but because the fundamental concepts of PGP aren't ready for widespread use.
|
||
The way PGP works is that you trust Key IDs instead of JID's or email addresses.
|
||
So in theory your contact list should consist of Public-Key-IDs instead of
|
||
JID's. But of course no email or XMPP client out there implements these
|
||
concepts. Plus PGP in the context of instant messaging has a couple of
|
||
downsides: It is vulnerable to replay attacks, it is rather verbose, and
|
||
decrypting and encrypting takes longer than OTR. It is however asynchronous and
|
||
works well with message carbons.
|
||
|
||
To use OpenPGP you have to install the open source app
|
||
[OpenKeychain](http://www.openkeychain.org) and then long press on the account in
|
||
manage accounts and choose renew PGP announcement from the contextual menu.
|
||
|
||
#### How does the encryption for conferences work?
|
||
|
||
For conferences the only supported encryption method is OpenPGP (OTR does not
|
||
work with multiple participants). Every participant has to announce their
|
||
OpenPGP key (see answer above). If you would like to send encrypted messages to
|
||
a conference you have to make sure that you have every participant's public key
|
||
in your OpenKeychain. Right now there is no check in Conversations to ensure
|
||
that. You have to take care of that yourself. Go to the conference details and
|
||
touch every key id (The hexadecimal number below a contact). This will send you
|
||
to OpenKeychain which will assist you on adding the key. This works best in
|
||
very small conferences with contacts you are already using OpenPGP with. This
|
||
feature is regarded experimental. Conversations is the only client that uses
|
||
XEP-0027 with conferences. (The XEP neither specifically allows nor disallows
|
||
this.)
|
||
|
||
### Development
|
||
|
||
<a name="beta"></a>
|
||
#### Beta testing
|
||
If you bought the App on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siacs.conversations)
|
||
you can get access to the latest beta version by joining the
|
||
[Conversations Beta Testers](https://plus.google.com/communities/107649347599361240873)
|
||
community on Google+ and then using [this link](https://play.google.com/apps/testing/eu.siacs.conversations)
|
||
to sign up for the beta test.
|
||
|
||
#### How do I build Conversations
|
||
|
||
Make sure to have ANDROID_HOME point to your Android SDK
|
||
|
||
git clone https://github.com/siacs/Conversations.git
|
||
cd Conversations
|
||
./gradlew build
|
||
|
||
|
||
[](https://travis-ci.org/siacs/Conversations)
|
||
|
||
### How do I update/add external libraries?
|
||
|
||
If the library you want to update is in Maven Central or JCenter (or has its own
|
||
Maven repo), add it or update its version in `build.gradle`. If the library is
|
||
in the `libs/` directory, you can update it using a subtree merge by doing the
|
||
following (using `minidns` as an example):
|
||
|
||
git remote add minidns https://github.com/rtreffer/minidns.git
|
||
git fetch minidns
|
||
git merge -s subtree minidns master
|
||
|
||
To add a new dependency to the `libs/` directory (replacing "name", "branch" and
|
||
"url" as necessary):
|
||
|
||
git remote add name url
|
||
git merge -s ours --no-commit name/branch
|
||
git read-tree --prefix=libs/name -u name/branch
|
||
git commit -m "Subtree merged in name"
|
||
|
||
#### How do I debug Conversations
|
||
|
||
If something goes wrong Conversations usually exposes very little information in
|
||
the UI (other than the fact that something didn't work). However with adb
|
||
(android debug bridge) you squeeze some more information out of Conversations.
|
||
These information are especially useful if you are experiencing trouble with
|
||
your connection or with file transfer.
|
||
|
||
adb -d logcat -v time -s conversations
|
||
|
||
#### I found a bug
|
||
|
||
Please report it to our [issue tracker][issues]. If your app crashes please
|
||
provide a stack trace. If you are experiencing misbehaviour please provide
|
||
detailed steps to reproduce. Always mention whether you are running the latest
|
||
Play Store version or the current HEAD. If you are having problems connecting to
|
||
your XMPP server your file transfer doesn’t work as expected please always
|
||
include a logcat debug output with your issue (see above).
|
||
|
||
[issues]: https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/issues
|