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I have not found any news article on this on a whim. Because my friends and family, I need to use Facebook Messenger, and Messenger Lite was a OK client - lightweight, no unnecessary features, etc., compared to the regular Messenger app.
Now I'm a little torn, having a Meta app on my phone is already bad, but having to downgrade to the bloated Messenger app? Not sure I will make a change. What are your thoughts?
You can use Beeper to replace all your communication apps. That way you only have to install one app, and you don't have to have Meta installed.
It sounds like a too good to be true situation. Definitely an interesting concept though. Sounds like they use remote servers to connect to the third-party apps using your credentials and then transcribe the messages using the Matrix protocol to the app. Source here and snippet below
Currently free but also will be a Plus version eventually rolling out, according to the FAQ
Also, no humor is lost on the fact that it is dangerously close to Wuph from The Office...
I signed up for beeper, but realized you can self host a matrix server that uses the same bridges between these chat services.
I was skeptical at first, but it's been super solid and refreshing to have a single chat app for everything.
How did you do that? I'd love to set something like that up. I keep seeing Matrix mentioned everywhere, but I haven't looked into it to see exactly what it is.
@Unsustainable @bananahammock @technology Matrix is a protocol for real time communication. Several companies build products using this protocol, including Elemental, Beeper and Rocket Chat.
This is similar to how ActivityPub is a protocol for federated social media. Many projects are built using ActivityPub, including Mastodon, PixelFed, and Lemmy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(protocol)
@Unsustainable @bananahammock @technology
A “Matrix Bridge” is a computer program that connects to an arbitrary service and presents it as Matrix service. You can connect to that Matrix service with any Matrix client.
For example, this code connects LinkedIn messages to Matrix: https://github.com/beeper/linkedin
Beeper runs Matrix bridges for you as a service. If you don’t want to use that service, you can self-host the bridges.
I signed up for this month's ago and I'm still not in. Every time I log into the app to check my waitlist, I'm some random number in the 3000s, and not always lower than last time. Why is this do you know?
If you're technically savvy, it looks like you could self-host the application. https://github.com/beeper/self-host
This is what I did, took a bit to get it configured but works great once your up and running.
How long have you been running it so far? Any issues?
A few months for the Facebook and Instagram bridges and I just setup the Google messages Bridge last week.
I'll take a look, cheers. Got an Raspberry Pi lying about somewhere I could use
I've never heard of beeper, but it sounds pretty inaccessible from what your saying. Is there something that makes it worth it? Or is it just another messaging app that nobody I need to speak with is using?
I believe Beeper is Matrix under the hood. They have just made it more accessible with a new interface and pre-installed bridges.
Just signed up myself, about 40k in line it seems. Sounds like reinventing Trillian/Gaim/Pidgin/etc...
It's a modern take on the Pidgin concept. Pidgin ran locally on one computer and didn't sync anything between any of your other Pidgin installs. Also, your login details for every account were usually in plaintext on disk. In practice, it feels
Beeper (really Matrix + bridges) is a network service that you can access with a browser, mobile app, whatever.
Yep, didn't mean it to sound like I was putting it down. Sounds like a cool concept.
I signed up when it was first announced over a year ago. As of a couple months ago I still hadn't gotten approved. I signed up again and within a couple days I got approved. You should try signing up again.
Genuinely I just found an invite code from Google. Once you're in the app is pretty much as advertised.
I was in the wait list for only 20 days, according to the email when I got in. No idea why I got in so fast but others have been waiting months.