Whonix Chat
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Inactive[edit]
All Whonix chat channels are currently inactive and read-only. Please use https://forums.whonix.org
instead.
Reasons:
- It was an experiment and deemed unsuccessful.
- Led to reduced activity on forums.whonix.org.
- Duplication of content between chat and forums.whonix.org increased support effort.
- Repetitive, circular, off-topic, endless discussions.
- Spam.
- Legal liability.
- Volume.
- Many contributors only participate in forums.whonix.org and not in Whonix chat.
- Unproductive in terms of improving Whonix Documentation, development progress, bug fixes, or source code enhancements.
- Distracts from development progress.
- Chat format is unsuitable for finding previous (or even recent) discussions.
- No topic separation like in forums.
- The previous read-write whonix.org chat was an experiment and does not create a perpetual obligation to maintain it. Sometimes decisions are re-evaluated: "If this were not the case now, based on what we know today, would it be a good decision to do so now?"
Therefore, a decision was made to set all Whonix chat channels to read-only.
Gratitude is extended to all contributors to Whonix chat!
Can the chat remain active (read-write) for user-to-user support without moderation and active contributors? Unfortunately not, due to legal liability and volume.
Why not delete these chat channels? To prevent impostors from recreating them and pretending to be the official chat, possibly scamming users.
Users are welcome to use the official https://forums.whonix.org Support, where admins and contributors are active. Users may also idle in existing chat channels, as news updates will continue to be forwarded there. These may be useful in the future if there is a 24/7 moderation/support team or for special occasions.
Whonix News Announcements Channel will remain up to date.
Whonix Telegram Chat[edit]
No Media Whonix Telegram Chat[edit]
- Currently inactive, read-only.
- Everyone who can use Telegram can join (both iPhone and Android).
- Posting links is forbidden.
- Posting screenshots is unsupported.
Whonix Project Chat (everyone, limited)
Better Whonix Telegram Chat[edit]
- Currently inactive, read-only.
- iPhone users might not be able to join.
- Users from "some countries" might not be able to join.
- Posting links is allowed if relevant to Whonix.
- Posting screenshots is allowed.
Whonix Project Chat (posting links and screenshots allowed)
Reasons for Two Telegram Discussion Groups[edit]
This is what happened: a spambot joined the "normal, main" Whonix chat and posted pornographic content (video). It was quickly deleted by an administrator. Telegram, via @AbuseNotifications, sent a private message to all channel administrators.
Our users reported some of the content posted in your group @Whonix as pornographic, and our moderators have confirmed this. For this reason, we had to restrict access to your group from iOS devices and from some countries. We’ll be glad to lift the restrictions if you remove pornographic content from your group and pledge to take reasonable care with moderation in the future. Please notify us here as soon as the group is free from porn again. If all the offending content is already removed, please send us the following command: /unblock_group1336747164@AbuseNotifications
This happened to other Telegram groups too. See: https://www.reddit.com/r/Telegram/comments/9ifp7s/group_blocked_because_of_pornographic_content/
Telegram is likely strict about this due to Apple's App Store policy banning pornography. Telegram doesn’t want to be removed from the App Store, as that would reduce user adoption.
Apple iPhone restricts user freedom and consists mostly of non-freedom software. Therefore, Avoid Non-Freedom Software. See also this GNU essay: Apple's Operating Systems Are Malware.
Telegram handles spam poorly.
An option would have been to disable all media in the Whonix main Telegram channel, but that would be dull because many users post screenshots.
Criticisms[edit]
The Telegram client is Freedom Software. The Telegram server, at the time of writing, is non-freedom software. [1]
To avoid unsubstantiated conclusions about Whonix having a Telegram chat, see Criteria for Selection of Platforms.
Telegram requires a phone number, which can be bad for anonymity. See Phone Number Validation.
Telegram Alternatives[edit]
Join the Whonix Project Chat using:
- Currently inactive, read-only.
- Try https://web.telegram.org
- Try using an Android phone.
- Whonix Matrix Chat
Whonix News Announcements[edit]
Whonix News Announcements Channel [2]
Whonix Matrix Chat[edit]
- Currently inactive, read-only.
Whonix Matrix Channel
Admins[edit]
The personal opinions of moderators or contributors to the Whonix project do not represent the project as a whole.
See Also[edit]
- Using Telegram in Whonix
- Phone Number Validation vs User Privacy
Mobile Phone Security
- Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
- Rationale for selection of Whonix platforms
- Official Whonix Online Profiles
- Whonix Policy of Whonix Website and Whonix Chat
Footnotes[edit]
The most watertight privacy operating system in the world.
At
Whonix we value freedom and trust, supporting Open Source and Freedom Software
2012-
2025 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC
We believe security software like Whonix needs to remain open source and independent. Would you help sustain and grow the project? Learn more about our 13 year success story and maybe DONATE!