Element Classic

• Free

Last verified 7 Aug 2026

3.3 577 ratings · App Store

1. 3/5syncing….

   I know its Apple’s crappy implementation of background functionality further aggravated by the current implementation of Matrix, but the perpetual discrepancy in notification numbers and need to wait for the app to sync every time the app is opened is a huge UX turn-off towards convincing more people to embrace the platform. I know this is supposed to be better with the next gen, but i’m not asking any friends or family to try this app out until it is capable of behaving like any other IM app on their iphone without the need to wait for it to sync every time.

   mistaken113 · 7 Aug 2026

2. 1/50/5

   The corporate messenger left an extremely unpleasant impression. To begin with, videos sent from the mobile version don't work at all — PNG images with the “play” icon just hang instead, but nothing happens when you try to play them. In the desktop version, the situation is no better: videos don't scroll, you have to watch everything in a row, which is extremely inconvenient. UX/UI is generally a separate story. The interface is extremely inconvenient, everything looks cheap and overloaded, which makes it difficult to use. The desktop version doesn't help either, it slows down, responds with a delay, and looks like it was developed by students in practice. As for optimization, it's just a disaster. The application is slow, freezes frequently, and issues errors. One of the most annoying moments is the voice chat window, which cannot be hidden. It's just disgusting — it's hanging on the screen, interfering with work, and you can't close it, which causes a lot of inconvenience. In general, I am extremely disappointed with this messenger. Using such applications in a corporate environment is a real punishment.

   Altsgeymer · 7 Aug 2026

3. 5/5Greatly improved over the last year, among the best for privacy and security

   Some of the bigger issues, like cross device verification in chat rooms with many people have been simplified to be more similar to the workflow keybase had. It’s now much better, and I haven’t experienced any of the other problems some users complain about. I don’t really think the name change is significant. Right now the app works really well for what it sets out to do, and is my choice for secure e2ee messaging.

   Coops58 · 7 Aug 2026

4. 3/5UI/UX Needs Improvement

   I love the concept and hope this app grows, but it is not intuitive and makes it difficult for people to setup and use—both mobile & desktop. Here are a few: 1. Favorites is unnecessary. You can add / see / modify them in Home. 2. People & Rooms can be lumped under a new category of ‘Discover’, ‘Search’, ‘Explore’, ‘Find’ or something along those lines. Rooms & Conversations subsections only need to be in Home. 3. Communities could be one of the best features in this app, but it needs significant attention. 3a. The entirety of Communities area, incl existing subsections needs an ability to edit / add. You cannot modify a community’s name, img or anything. You can’t create rooms in the room subsection, etc. Major drawback. 3b. All of the current subtabs are unnecessary. Something like the following is preferred. Communities > CommunityC > CommunityD >> Rooms >>> Room1 >>>> People >>>> Images/Videos >>>> Docs/Files >>> Room2 >>> Room3 >> Messages (Private) >> Directory (could be superfluous) + a function to cluster & arrange rooms There are more, but I’ve typed up alot already. Hope to see some improvements. Cheers.

   jameshass · 7 Aug 2026

5. 4/5Best free E2EE open-source messenger

   At time of writing, this app has a 3.7 rating and that is a very fair assessment of its quality and usability. It isn’t the most user-friendly messenger on the App Store, but some of that is by design. The lower more critical ratings are not fair IMHO; some of the inconvenience of security is required for it to be secure i.e. needing to verify keys devices and users, etc. People want privacy and security without adding additional steps but those steps create more privacy and security inherently. Case in point, 2 factor authentication. Is it quicker to not enable for your internet accounts? Sure. Does taking an extra few seconds make you more secure? Absolutely. All of that said, both my tech-illiterate parents (in their 60s) and my older gen-X siblings use this app daily without any issue.

   olynerd · 7 Aug 2026

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