Worth it Stage 1
Element is a client for the Matrix open protocol—a federated, end-to-end encrypted messaging standard where no single server or company owns your data. You can self-host your homeserver or join any public one; Element (the company) monetises through enterprise hosting contracts rather than ad inventory or data sales. VC-backed and commercially ambitious, but the open protocol underneath means lock-in is structurally impossible—a meaningful stage 1 property even if the company itself is investor-funded.
- Since
- 2016
- Category
- Messaging
- VC-backed
- Yes
- Public
- No
- Website
- element.io
The promise
Its first promise, and how much is kept · Scoring
100% kept
“Chat and call securely, and bridge to other apps!”
Why it’s rated 1
The criteria it meets, with sources · Method
- Alignment 1 of 3
-
- A3 Open and portable
- Lock-in 0 of 4
- None
- Extraction 0 of 7
- None
- Decline 0 of 3
- None
Result An alignment criterion, no lock-in, and at most one extraction criterion, so stage 1.