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@@ -1,335 +1,26 @@ -# Conversations +# 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 +Conversations+: the improved version of [Conversations](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/) ## 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 (or mod_proxy65). Will be used to transfer - files if both parties are behind a firewall (NAT). -* XEP-0163: Personal Eventing Protocol for avatars -* XEP-0191: Blocking command lets you blacklist spammers or block contacts - without removing them from your roster. -* XEP-0198: Stream Management allows XMPP to survive small network outages and - changes of the underlying TCP connection. -* XEP-0280: Message Carbons 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 mainly to save bandwidth on poor mobile connections -* XEP-0313: Message Archive Management synchronize message history with the - server. Catch up with messages that were sent while Conversations was - offline. -* XEP-0352: Client State Indication lets the server know whether or not - Conversations is in the background. Allows the server to save bandwidth by - withholding unimportant packages. -* XEP-xxxx: HttpUpload 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) - -#### 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 +Of course Conversations+ supports [all features of Conversations](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/#features) and in addition: + +* smileys like Whatsapp +* change of LED notification color +* online status in contact and conversation list +* Manual loading of last messages from MAM +* Sending of original images + +## Modifications + +* unread count badges take care of setting "Conference notifications" +* swipe to end conversation only in one direction +* replace ASCII-smileys +* Swipe to refresh for loading archived messages using MAM +* settings + * confirmation for received and/or read messages + * automatically download picture links + * automatically download only when wifi enabled + * sending original or resized images +* bugfixes and code improvements
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