Greetings :)

I have been actively looking for a good free open source Discord alternative with end-to-end encryption for a while now, and I have come to the conclusion, that Matrix with a client like Element might be a good choice. My only problem with Matrix (using the Element client), is that while there are voice and video call rooms, they work as they would in a traditional messenger or Skype/Teams/Zoom/etc. The use case of my friends and I is to have Discord-like voice channels where one can drop in casually and even stay there alone for hours while others see who’s currently on the channel and choose whether to join or not, depending on who’s on the voice channel.

Is it planned to have this functionality in Matrix or Element in the future? I could only find this issue on GitHub regarding my use case. And if not, is there a Matrix client that has this functionality? And if not, would it be possible to add this functionality by only changing the code of the Element front-end?

Edit/Update: I have raised this question in the #element-web:matrix.org Matrix room. I got an answer: The use case or feature I have described is still being developed and an experimental version is available as a Beta feature.

• On the browser the experimental feature is under: Settings → Labs → New Video rooms
• On the desktop app it’s under: Settings → Labs → Join the Beta (joining the Beta enables the “New video rooms”)

From when I tested it, the experimental feature shows the amount of people currently connected to the video/voice call/channel, but not who those users are. I assume that will be added in future.

Either way, thanks for the community for clearing that up for us. As soon as this feature is in the official version, I will try getting my friends from Discord to Matrix. In an initial transition phase probably with Discord-Matrix-bridges.