etke.cc
the only FOSS-based service offering Matrix chat server hosting
  etke.cc
  - the only FOSS-based service offering Matrix chat server hosting
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Ntfy service

ntfy (pronounce: notify) is a simple HTTP-based pub-sub notification service that implements UnifiedPush provider spec . It allows you to send notifications to your phone or desktop via scripts from any computer, entirely without signup, cost or setup. It’s also open source if you want to run your own.

Push notifications delivered to Matrix mobile apps are usually only wake-up calls to the application and do not carry actual payload (text message data, etc). Even by default (without using Ntfy), your message payload remains private, despite going through Google servers (on Android) or Apple servers (on iOS).

Ntfy is useful for improving the privacy/independence of a Matrix setup, because even these “application wake-up calls” no longer need to go through Google/Apple servers. Instead, they go through your own Ntfy instance (self-hosted on the Matrix server).

To make use of ntfy, one needs a mobile app which supports using UnifiedPush as an alternative push notifications backend. Element mobile apps are a good example.

Usage

Android

  1. Install an UnifiedPush distributor app. Example: Ntfy (Source code , F-Droid , Google Play )
  2. Open the app settings and set your UnifiedPush provider (ntfy server) as the default server. Usually it hosted on https://ntfy.your-server.com
  3. Open any compatible matrix client app (SchildiChat, Element, etc.) and in the notification settings switch notifications provider to ntfy

ntfy main screen ntfy settings screen a matrix client app notification settings

iOS

While there is a Ntfy app for iOS (see it on the App Store or its source code ), none of the Matrix clients for iOS can make use of Ntfy yet due to technical limitations of the iOS platform .