Element

What is Element?

Element grew out of the Riot.im client and has been maintained for several years, now at version 1.12.32. It offers persistent rooms, threaded discussions, and integration bots, positioning itself as a privacy‑focused alternative to Microsoft Teams. The app runs as a Flatpak from Flathub and supports Wayland with some GNOME quirks.

It targets teams and communities that need secure, federated communication without locking into a proprietary ecosystem. Because it uses the Matrix protocol, you can host your own server or join public ones, giving you control over data retention and encryption.

Compared with Teams, Element feels more like a web‑centric messenger: the UI is lightweight, notifications are highly configurable, and video calls rely on WebRTC. You’ll miss some deep Office‑365 integration, but you gain transparency and the ability to interoperate with other Matrix clients.

Best for: Teams that value open standards, encryption, and the ability to run their own server.

Key features of Element

• End‑to‑end encrypted chat and calls
• Persistent rooms with unlimited history
• Customizable notifications and keyword alerts
• Bot integrations via the Element store
• Matrix federation for cross‑server communication
• Screen sharing and WebRTC video conferencing
• Desktop and mobile clients share the same account
• Wayland support via Flatpak

Tips for Windows users

Export any Teams chat history via the Teams export tool and import it into Element as plain text if needed; shortcuts differ – use Ctrl+K for quick room switching and Ctrl+Shift+M to mute. Expect to configure rooms manually rather than relying on automatic channel creation, and use the Element bot store for workflow automation that Teams Power Automate provided.

Recent releases

• 1.12.32 — October 16, 2026
• 1.12.31 — October 13, 2026
• 1.12.29 — September 22, 2026
• 1.12.28 — September 16, 2026