Element: Matrix groups

By the end of this page you have an account on the IranTalk Matrix server, with no phone number or email, you have joined the announcement and help rooms, and you have an encrypted private group of your own.

Tier 2: open internet · Needs internet.

Matrix is a network of chat servers that talk to each other, and Element is its app: browser, Android, iPhone and desktop. Private groups are end-to-end encrypted; the server cannot read them. When the internet is open this is where the community lives; when it is cut, it is the first thing to stop working, which is why the other ways exist.

1. Sign in

1. Open Element: in the browser at chat.irantalk.com (once it is live), or install the Element app.
2. Choose "Create account" and edit the homeserver: the "Matrix" row from Ways to connect.
3. Pick a username that is not your real name, and a long password. No email or phone number is asked for; registration is by invite code or a simple question.
4. Write down the recovery key Element gives you somewhere safe. Without it, losing the device means losing the encrypted messages.

2. The IranTalk rooms

• #irantalk: announcements, read-only. Each new signed list is announced here, with its hash.
• #help: questions and answers in Farsi.

A room's full name is the room name followed by the server address, with a colon between. Search for them under "Explore rooms".

3. Your own private group

1. New room, private, "end-to-end encryption" on (it is the default for private rooms).
2. Invite by Matrix username, not by phone number.
3. Verify each other's sessions so you know nobody is in the middle.

4. The Telegram bridge

When the internet is open, public rooms can be bridged to a Telegram group so the people still there can read too. The bridge is for public rooms only; encrypted rooms are never bridged.