Boston, MA – november 8, 2023 – GNU Jami, a fully free and decentralized dialog platform, is experiencing a surge in user adoption following recent disruptions to proprietary services like Skype. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) recognized Jami’s commitment to user freedom and social benefit with an award in October 2023, highlighting its importance in a landscape increasingly dominated by surveillance-prone communication tools.
|
Consider GNU Jami for your next call or message – a privacy-respecting alternative. |
The FSF has long championed GNU Jami, alongside other free communication options, and its growth reflects a growing awareness of the importance of software freedom.According to Laurent Savio, a key developer with Savoirfaire Linux, the company behind Jami, user numbers have seen a meaningful increase since Skype’s service outages in late 2022 and early 2023. This influx demonstrates the potential for free software to capitalize on the failures of centralized, proprietary systems.
Effective communication tools rely on a critical mass of users. Jami distinguishes itself by prioritizing user freedom – meaning users have the liberty to run, study, share, and modify the software. This commitment extends to accessibility and inclusivity; Jami now supports multi-byte Unicode usernames, enabling users who communicate in languages like Arabic, Chinese, or Russian to participate fully.This feature addresses a significant barrier to entry for non-Latin alphabet users,broadening the platform’s reach.
A key differentiator between Jami and proprietary alternatives lies in its data handling practices. Jami operates on a principle of inferred data rather than collected data. While detailed network information could aid development, the developers recognize the inherent risks of data accumulation, citing the example of Zoom’s past use of the Facebook SDK – a practice that raised serious privacy concerns. Unlike closed-source software, Jami’s code is publicly auditable, allowing self-reliant security researchers to verify its privacy claims. The FSF emphasizes that free software is essential for genuine privacy.
Jami’s decentralized architecture,built on the Asterisk PBX and utilizing the Yate signaling stack,further enhances its privacy and resilience. Unlike centralized services, Jami doesn’t rely on a single point of failure or a central authority that can be compelled to share user data. The project is actively maintained by Savoirfaire Linux, a company based in Montreal, Canada, dedicated to free software development.
Call to action
Experience the freedom of Jami by making a call or connecting with friends. alternatively, explore other free communication platforms like encrypted XMPP. these alternatives offer comparable functionality to non-free apps, but with the added benefits of freedom, privacy, and control.
“Jami logo” © 2022 linux know-how. This image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
