Gnu is a public jabber server. Jabber (or xmpp) is an open protocol for realtime communications. In contrast to most similar protocols, it is decentralized. That means that there is no central server, but a network of many equal servers. To some extend, it is similar to how email works.
Every user can freely register on any server they like and trust, in order to chat with users across the whole network.
You can register through this form.
There are many applications for using jabber. Below we suggest some that we consider more secure.
| Pidgin | ||||
| Adium | ||||
| CoyIM | ||||
| TorMessenger | ||||
| Chatsecure | ||||
| Conversations |
The above applications communicate with gnu in an encrypted way, same applies to communication with other servers.
For end to end encryption we recommend the use of OTR (Off-the-Record) protocol. All of the above suggested applications support this, either by default or through a plugin.
SHA256 Fingerprint
One of the motives for creating gnu was to build a jabber server that will keep a minimum amount of (meta)data and only the bare minimum that is required for its core functionality, in respect to users privacy.
Data that we do not keep on the server
- Connection metadata. Exact time and duration of connection to the server.
- Access logs. Both on the jabber and on the web server that hosts this website.
- Chat data. It may seems obvious, but it is important to note that the server has no knowledge to the chats content.
In order for this service to work, it is necessary to keep these data.
- Users contacts (roster). This ensures that the contact list remains the same for a given account, regardless of which application or device is being used for connection.
- Offline messages. These are incoming messages that are stored in case a user is offline. These messages are automatically deleted once the user gets online.
- We keep a record, on a month basis, for the last time a user is connected to the server. This way we can delete accounts that are inactive for more than a year, so we do not need to keep user data that no longer use our service or have forgotten their password.