Like how private are they?
They are saved in plaintext in the database but cannot be accessed by mods or admins unless reported (or having database access). For private communication you should use something like Matrix.
Hook a fella up. Eli5 getting started on matrix. I can’t convince anyone I know to use out if I don’t know how myself, and I want to, but I’m busy figuring out lemmy lol.
Well, if you figured out Lemmy you are halfway done with Matrix ;-)
Matrix, like Lemmy or e-mail, is a federated communication protocol. It does not matter if you and your homie are on different servers since both speak the same language.
The first step is to choose a home server (for example from here), next you sign up there. Then you can start messaging right away. Just enter the name of your partner (which has the form @username:server.tld) and a new chat is opened.
The most common client for Matrix is called Element. There are apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux and Web.
Matrix is (nowadays by default) end-to-end-encrypted, so that really nobody can sniff your messages. There are some difficulties here and there but overall it works quite reasonable!
Hmu if there are more questions.
Admins almost certainty have database access.
Not if we speak about admins in the context of Lemmy instances. I, for example, am admin at feddit.de. Yet only the owner has access to the VPS running the software and I am stuck with the options the Lemmy UI (or API) gives me.
Signal FTW!
closed platform, use matrix or something where you control the line.
I thought it was open source, no?
Yes Signal is both open source and E2EE, but it’s still a closed centralized platform. You could spin it up yourself of course, but it wouldn’t be able to interact with others spinned up in any way, which is why everyone just uses the “official” Signal servers and applications.
Matrix is an open standard protocol like IRC or XMPP which is E2EE by default. Anybody can integrate Matrix into their software (varying levels of difficulty) and it will be able to communicate with all other Matrix software.
In fact Signal vs instant-messaging software which utilize Matrix is almost exactly analagous to Reddit vs Lemmy, if Reddit were still open source…
I know there is a open source fork called molly.
my bad, yes you can run your own. most just signup for what others are running.
they arent, use matrix for encrypted comms
Good question
It depends. On facebook messenger? Not private at all. On signal? As private as it gets
Were you thinking about some service in particular?
Yeah, I mean on lemmy.
Wait, we have DMs here on lemmy?
Not private - https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/18079
When it says that ‘the instance admin’ can read anything, remember that federation means anyone can be admin of their instance
