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diff --git a/content/misc/kontalk_messaging.rst b/content/misc/kontalk_messaging.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5b17bf --- /dev/null +++ b/content/misc/kontalk_messaging.rst @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@ +Kontalk FLOSS alternative for Whatsapp and Co. +############################################## + +:date: 2014-02-21 19:51 +:slug: kontalk-messaging +:tags: smartphone,messaging,whatsapp,foss +:author: copyninja +:summary: FLOSS alternative for Whatsapp. + +So *Whatsapp* has been acquired by Facebook and this news is still hot +and people are discussing it all over the twitterverse. So I took this +opportunity to stop using *Whatsapp* and removed it from my +phone. Possibly I could have deleted my account but who cares. + +Anyway I've been searching for a secure and FLOSS alternative for +*Whatsapp* for quite some time now, few days ago I found about +*Telegram* but after reading `post +<http://blog.tincho.org/posts/Telegram/>`_ by Tincho on planet Debian, +I decided not to use it. Recently while going through the talk list +for fossmeet.in I found link for `Kontalk <http://kontalk.org>`_ in a +privacy awareness talk `proposal +<http://funnel.fossmeet.in/2014/61-i-have-nothing-to-hide-i-dont-care-about-privacy>`_ +by `Praveen <http://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=praveen>`_ and +thought I should give it a try. So below is my first feelings about +*Kontalk*. + +Installation and Activation +=========================== + +Kontalk can be installed from `playstore +<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kontalk>`_ for +verification purpose it requests your phone number and country code +and request for verification. This should send a SMS with a code which +should be entered in the text box given and app is ready to use. There +is also a possibility to use pre-existing verification code (if you +got one from developer directly, read below for details). + +I did see some glitches like I never got the SMS delivered to my phone +after 2 attempts and a days wait. Then I went ahead and reported a +`bug <https://code.google.com/p/kontalk/issues/detail?id=179>`_ and +the main developer was quick to respond. After a discussion it was +noticed that SMS was blocked by spam filters. He also mentioned its +tough to get SMS delivered to India. He was kind enough to provide me +with a verification code and I used the *Use existing code* option to +enter it and get *Kontalk* activated. + +The SMS delivery inconsistency is still present for India (and may be +other nations too) some people get code immidiately others may be +after couple of days and some might not. Upstream is already working +on a possible `workaround +<https://code.google.com/p/kontalk/issues/detail?id=141>`_. + +User Experience +=============== + +Now coming to usage part, the UI is neat and clean, I won't say super +polished as *Whatsapp* or other popular apps but its really *neat* and +easy to use. Some points which I like are + +- Ability to hide presence, so others won't know you are online or + offline. (unlike *Whatsapp* which advertises last seen) +- Encrypted messages and ability to optin or optout. +- Encrypted status messages! Only user with your phone number can see + your status. (Cool isn't it). +- Manually requesting to find contacts who already uses + kontalk!. Right it doesn't read your contact list without your + permission you need to refresh to check who in your contacts is + using Kontalk. +- Attach and smiley options in the top right corner of Chat window + which allows easy accessing unlike keyboard - smiley switching of + *Whatsapp*. +- No automatic download of media contents which is shared. Yes by + default it doesn't download any picture or video automatically if + you want to see something click on it and select download. +- Running your own server for Kontalk! Now thats something which is + interesting for people who doesn't want to host their data on some + other peoples infrastructure. Code for server is available at + `xmppserver + <https://code.google.com/p/kontalk/source/browse?repo=xmppserver>`_ + repo. + +But there are some rough edges also but I'm sure this can be +improved. But some points which I noticed are + +- Contact name disappears and only number is displayed. This is + something which happened with one of my contact so I'm not really + sure its a bug. +- My friend noticed all his existing contacts suddenly vanished when + he refreshed contacts list. Again this is possible bugs and we are + considering reporting it upstream. +- No group chats yet. I don't see a option to do that yet. +- Attachment at the moment is restricted only to pictures (and video? + never tried) and uploading takes quite sometime and sometime hangs + forever. + +So I'm considering forwarding these to upstream and help them by +providing enough data so these can be fixed. + +Technical Side +============== + +All code for client server and protocol specs are available under +GPL-v3 at the `Kontalk project <https://code.google.com/p/kontalk>`_ +site. Server software is written in Python and I guess uses XMPP (but +I've not cross verified). Server also uses MySQL as database. These +can be hosted on our own servers but possibly needs more than that +like SMS sending options etc. + +Conclusion +========== + +In my views *Kontalk* can become a great alternative for *Whatsapp* +and co from Free Software world and I encourage every one to give it a +try which will be the first step to help improving it. + + + Disclaimer: I'm not a privacy or security expert so whatever I shared + above are what I noticed and experts may see something different than + this. In any case I welcome comments and suggestions. |