Is there a way I can make my XMPP (Conversations) messages synced to my desktop? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 2 days ago by unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de to c/foss@beehaw.org

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The other day I switched Linux distros, wiped disk, and somehow realised that OMEMO is a weird freaky thing and now I cannot see any message from my computer, even though I have everything visible on my Conversations Android app.

I don't want to get angry again, but... yeah, this is terrible, terrible UX. Seems like OMEMO somehow encrypts for each device differently, and now all messages are "locked". Which is weird, because messages are still there, just "locked".

Can I somehow import a backup from my Android app? Is there anything that can be done? My guess is that, probably not, otherwise I would have gotten a popup or something in the login process, "would you like to sync your messages?", but nothing happened.

XMPP supremacists, please! Give me a solution! I was organizing important projects with multiple people. Getting locked out of all that information is terrible.

Otherwise, then I really feel I can see XMPP disappearing now... and for a very good reason.

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[-] unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 days ago

That is very sad. I'll be migrating out of XMPP. It's intolerable that one cannot recover messages that are still there; or that even moving from one client to another implies you lose all of your history.

[-] kixik@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

This is a security feature. Other communication mechanisms having the keys somewhere else not owned by you is rather something I wouldn't stand. And to me it's unsafe that messages would be kept way long on the servers.

On xmpp the sync happens from server to all syncing clients, and the proper XEPs need to supported in both the client and the server.

[-] unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago

Then losing all your project's history, while also forcing you to stick to a single, unofficial (because there is no official) XMPP client for the rest of your life because there are no standardized multiplatform backups. I'm sorry but no.

You may call it a feature. I call it a huge fat bug.

[-] MangoPenguin 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

This is a problem a lot of secure/private projects have tbh, they get so into the details that it's just a miserable user experience.

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this post was submitted on 12 May 2025

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