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Meta discontinues Messenger Lite for Android, it will be unavailable after Sep 18. Users need to install regular Messenger app instead (beehaw.org)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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I have not found any news article on this on a whim. Because my friends and family, I need to use Facebook Messenger, and Messenger Lite was a OK client - lightweight, no unnecessary features, etc., compared to the regular Messenger app.

Now I'm a little torn, having a Meta app on my phone is already bad, but having to downgrade to the bloated Messenger app? Not sure I will make a change. What are your thoughts?

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[–] 22 points 2 years ago (3 children)

You can use Beeper to replace all your communication apps. That way you only have to install one app, and you don't have to have Meta installed.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It sounds like a too good to be true situation. Definitely an interesting concept though. Sounds like they use remote servers to connect to the third-party apps using your credentials and then transcribe the messages using the Matrix protocol to the app. Source here and snippet below

    Beeper consists of two main components:

    • A client app that runs on your devices.
    • A web service run by Beeper.

    ... Beeper’s web service consists of a Matrix homeserver and infrastructure to run open source bridges that connect to 15 different chat networks.

    Currently free but also will be a Plus version eventually rolling out, according to the FAQ

    For now, everyone has access to all the features of Beeper Plus for free. At some point in 2023, we will begin charging $5-10 per month for Beeper Plus.

    Also, no humor is lost on the fact that it is dangerously close to Wuph from The Office...

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    I signed up for beeper, but realized you can self host a matrix server that uses the same bridges between these chat services.

    I was skeptical at first, but it's been super solid and refreshing to have a single chat app for everything.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    How did you do that? I'd love to set something like that up. I keep seeing Matrix mentioned everywhere, but I haven't looked into it to see exactly what it is.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    @Unsustainable @bananahammock @technology Matrix is a protocol for real time communication. Several companies build products using this protocol, including Elemental, Beeper and Rocket Chat.

    This is similar to how ActivityPub is a protocol for federated social media. Many projects are built using ActivityPub, including Mastodon, PixelFed, and Lemmy.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(protocol)

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    @Unsustainable @bananahammock @technology

    A “Matrix Bridge” is a computer program that connects to an arbitrary service and presents it as Matrix service. You can connect to that Matrix service with any Matrix client.

    For example, this code connects LinkedIn messages to Matrix: https://github.com/beeper/linkedin

    Beeper runs Matrix bridges for you as a service. If you don’t want to use that service, you can self-host the bridges.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    I signed up for this month's ago and I'm still not in. Every time I log into the app to check my waitlist, I'm some random number in the 3000s, and not always lower than last time. Why is this do you know?

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    If you're technically savvy, it looks like you could self-host the application. https://github.com/beeper/self-host

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    This is what I did, took a bit to get it configured but works great once your up and running.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I've never heard of beeper, but it sounds pretty inaccessible from what your saying. Is there something that makes it worth it? Or is it just another messaging app that nobody I need to speak with is using?

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Just signed up myself, about 40k in line it seems. Sounds like reinventing Trillian/Gaim/Pidgin/etc...

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It's a modern take on the Pidgin concept. Pidgin ran locally on one computer and didn't sync anything between any of your other Pidgin installs. Also, your login details for every account were usually in plaintext on disk. In practice, it feels

    Beeper (really Matrix + bridges) is a network service that you can access with a browser, mobile app, whatever.

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