Element - Secure Messenger

3.9
6.56K reviews
1M+
Downloads
Content rating
PEGI 18
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About this app

Element is both a secure messenger and a productivity team collaboration app that is ideal for group chats while remote working. This chat app uses end-to-end encryption to provide powerful video conferencing, file sharing and voice calls.

Element’s features include:
- Advanced online communication tools
- Fully encrypted messages to allow safer corporate communication, even for remote workers
- Decentralized chat based on the Matrix open source framework
- File sharing securely with encrypted data while managing projects
- Video chats with Voice over IP and screen sharing
- Easy integration with your favourite online collaboration tools, project management tools, VoIP services and other team messaging apps

Element is completely different from other messaging and collaboration apps. It operates on Matrix, an open network for secure messaging and decentralized communication. It allows self-hosting to give users maximum ownership and control of their data and messages.

Privacy and encrypted messaging
Element protects you from unwanted ads, data mining and walled gardens. It also secures all your data, one-to-one video and voice communication through end-to-end encryption and cross-signed device verification.

Element gives you control over your privacy while allowing you to communicate securely with anyone on the Matrix network, or other business collaboration tools by integrating with apps such as Slack.

Element can be self-hosted
To allow more control of your sensitive data and conversations, Element can be self-hosted or you can choose any Matrix-based host - the standard for open source, decentralized communication. Element gives you privacy, security compliance and integration flexibility.

Own your data
You decide where to keep your data and messages. Without the risk of data mining or access from third parties.

Element puts you in control in different ways:
1. Get a free account on the matrix.org public server hosted by the Matrix developers, or choose from thousands of public servers hosted by volunteers
2. Self-host your account by running a server on your own IT infrastructure
3. Sign up for an account on a custom server by simply subscribing to the Element Matrix Services hosting platform

Open messaging and collaboration
You can chat with anyone on the Matrix network, whether they’re using Element, another Matrix app or even if they are using a different messaging app.

Super secure
Real end-to-end encryption (only those in the conversation can decrypt messages), and cross-signed device verification.

Complete communication and integration
Messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, screen sharing and a whole bunch of integrations, bots and widgets. Build rooms, communities, stay in touch and get things done.

Pick up where you left off
Stay in touch wherever you are with fully synchronised message history across all your devices and on the web at https://app.element.io

Open source
Element Android is an open source project, hosted by GitHub. Please report bugs and/or contribute to its development at https://github.com/vector-im/element-android
Updated on
Jan 20, 2025

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
This app may share these data types with third parties
Location, Messages and 7 others
This app may collect these data types
App activity, App info and performance, and Device or other IDs
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted

Ratings and reviews

4.0
6.32K reviews
Meredith Swilling
January 28, 2025
I like the idea of Matrix, but the performance is absolute dogwater even in chats of less than 12 people. Instead of fixing the performance issues, the developers have decided to build a paid, proprietary server, which is supposed to be better. The chat encryption is significantly worse than Signal on a technical level, and this app has by far the absolute worst UI I have ever seen on a messaging app. It is hard to tell messages apart because there are no borders between messages.
13 people found this review helpful
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Art
January 13, 2025
a real security oriented competitor to discord. The future of messaging together with Signal. There are text bubbles in this app in settings and can there is two different UI layouts you can pick from, I prefer the classical layout, most of the complaints I've seen in these reviews are from people not going to settings to enable or toggle on an option.
19 people found this review helpful
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Locomotor Sl
January 25, 2025
Lost all my message history after 2 years because the app somehow lost my encryption key that it only stored locally. Security is desirable against others reading my messages, not against myself being prevented from having access to 2 years' worth of history of my own messages.
2 people found this review helpful
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What’s new

Main changes in this version: Redirect user to Element X when they want to create accounts on server with MAS support.
Full changelog: https://github.com/element-hq/element-android/releases