Beeper

Beeper’s product is built on the open Matrix protocol and uses Matrix "bridges" to connect other chat networks into one client. The company positions the Matrix-based client as a single place to read and reply to conversations that exist on different services; the source article explains this approach in detail: The Universal Communication Bus.

As a practical step toward interoperability, Beeper funds and supports open-source Matrix bridge development so popular networks become reachable from Matrix. The blog describes those bridges as an intermediate step that makes it easier for people to find friends on Matrix and gradually move to native Matrix usage.

The product priorities described include: a single desktop client that contains all chats, unified search across networks, the ability to sort conversations into categories like “work”, “friends”, and “family” regardless of which network a conversation lives on, and merging all communication with an individual into a continuous timeline.

Beeper emphasizes a hackable, extensible interface: consolidating messages into one database to make it easier to prototype new features and to support a plug-in framework for extensions.

The team builds on Matrix’s federated and end-to-end encrypted design as a foundation for portability and to enable non-display platforms, while also acknowledging the privacy and security trade-offs that can arise when bridging encrypted and unencrypted networks.