Private chat app using wifi only. No SIM available (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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My niece has an old iphone with no SIM/phone number. Only wifi internet access.

Looking for an app for both of us to be able to chat

She cant chat with me over signal because no phonee number. She chats with the rest of the family over imessage, but i have an android phone

Is there an app available for both android and iphone to let me chat with her?

Thanks

Edit: willing to self-host for extra privacy. My nieces and nephews are all young children so i definitely want to encourage/educate them to get off corporate controlled communications channels

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[-] Dragonish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 9 months ago

To expand with my personal experience, I self host a synapse server partly for the reason that i want my children (aged 8-14 now) to have a communication platform they can access to get ahold of me with out requireing a sim card. I do not federate, and i do not allow account sign ups. That keeps a pretty isolated instance while still allowing everyone on that homeserver to be able to talk to each other.

I help them get Element setup on each device. I dont think this is overly complicated, but i am sure i am a horrible judge of complexity... They have to enter the url of the server, then their password, then they need to scan a qr code/verify from an existing device. Or, they need to enter a second passcode to verify their identity. I help them keep those secrets in bitwarden, so imo, that complexity is an opportunity to explain some opsec and encryption!

this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024

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