Download APK Element Latest Features, Update Benefits & Review

I first opened Element on a quiet morning while my phone was still charging, and I had a few minutes to spare before the day properly began. What struck me first was the calm layout and the way the important actions sat exactly where I expected them to be. Over the first week I used Element mainly for rooms and direct chats, and I paid attention to how it felt on ordinary days rather than on perfect ones. That slow test matters, because a messaging app is judged by hundreds of small moments, not by one flashy launch screen.

Element is the best-known app for Matrix, an open network for chat where anyone can run a server and every server can talk to the others. That idea sounds technical, and it is, but in daily use Element feels like a normal messenger: you open a room, read the latest messages, reply, share a photo, and move on. The difference shows up over time, in the choices you get about privacy, in the way large communities stay organised, and in the fact that no single company owns the whole network. This review looks at the latest features, what recent updates actually improve, how Element compares with the apps most people already use, and who should keep it on their phone.

If you are weighing Element against a simpler messenger, the short answer is that Element trades a little early setup effort for a lot of control later. If you run a community, a study group, a gaming clan, or a small team that wants its own rooms and its own rules, that trade is worth making. If you only message three friends and never join a group, a simpler app may suit you better. The rest of this article explains why, feature by feature, so you can decide with real information instead of a slogan.

What Element Is and How Matrix Messaging Works

Element is a messaging app built on Matrix, an open standard for real-time communication. Think of Matrix the way you think of email: Gmail users can write to Outlook users because both sides speak the same open protocol. Matrix works the same way for chat. Your account lives on a server called a homeserver, and your messages can reach people on other homeservers because those servers federate with each other. Element is the app most people use to talk on that network, and it is developed by the team behind much of the Matrix work itself.

When you create an Element account you pick a homeserver, and the default choice is matrix.org, the large public server run by the Matrix.org Foundation. You can also join a homeserver run by a community, an employer, or a university, or run your own if you have the skills and a small server. Your address looks like @username:server-name, which is why Element usernames carry that colon and server part. It feels odd for a day, then it fades into the background, much like an email address does.

Rooms are the heart of Element. A room is a shared chat space for one topic, one team, or one community, and it can hold a handful of people or thousands. Direct messages sit beside rooms for one-to-one talk, and Spaces group related rooms under one roof so a large community stays navigable. I kept a Space for a hobby group with separate rooms for news, help, and off-topic chat, and that split kept each conversation readable instead of letting one fast room bury everything else. That structure is the single biggest reason communities pick Element over a flat group chat.

Messages in Element are kept on the homeserver, and the app syncs them to your phone, tablet, and desktop so you can pick up a conversation on any device. History stays available when you return, search reaches back through old messages, and you can read a room on the web client and continue on Android without losing your place. The trade-off is that the first sync on a new device can take a while when you belong to many large rooms, because the app has to catch up on a lot of history. Later updates have cut that waiting time a lot, and I will come back to that in the update section below.

Element Latest Features Worth Knowing About

The Element of today is a much smoother app than the one from a few years ago. The team has rebuilt the calling system, added threads and polls, improved search, and shipped a whole new Android app, Element X, alongside the classic Element app. Some of these changes are visible the moment you open the app, and some only show up when you need them, but together they change how the app feels day to day. Here are the features that matter most in real use.

End-to-End Encryption and Cross-Signing in Element

End-to-end encryption is on by default in private rooms and direct messages in Element, which means only the people in the conversation can read the messages. The encryption uses the Olm and Megolm protocols from Matrix, and Element handles the key exchange in the background, so you do not have to think about keys when you send a message. You will notice encryption most when you sign in on a new device: the app asks you to verify that device, and until you do, your older messages may show as undecryptable on the new phone.

Cross-signing ties your devices together under one identity, so verifying one device can vouch for your others. In practice, that means you verify your new phone from your old phone, or from a desktop session, and the warning shields disappear. It takes about a minute, and it is worth doing on day one, because unverified sessions are the most common source of confusion for new Element users. The app also lets you back up your encryption keys to the server, protected by a recovery passphrase or a recovery key, so a lost phone does not mean lost message history.

How device verification works in practice

Open Settings, then Security and Privacy, and look at the list of your sessions. Each device has a name and a verification state. To verify a new phone, open the verification prompt on both devices and compare the emoji or the numbers shown on each screen. If they match, confirm on both sides. That short check proves that nobody has slipped a fake device into the middle of your conversation, and it is the same idea behind the safety numbers in other encrypted messengers, presented in a friendlier form.

Rooms, Spaces and Threads for Organised Communities

Rooms in Element support replies, reactions, message editing, and rich text, and threads let a side discussion branch off a single message without derailing the main flow. I found threads most useful in busy rooms where three conversations run at once: the main timeline stays readable, and the detailed back-and-forth lives in its own thread. Polls add another tool for groups that need a quick decision, with a question, a set of answers, and live results inside the room.

Spaces are the next layer up. A Space can hold rooms, sub-spaces, and a home view, so a community of a few hundred people can offer a news room, a help room, an events room, and a casual room without forcing everyone into one noisy channel. Room admins can set who may join, who may post, and who may moderate, and moderation tools include kicks, bans, and redaction of messages. For a public community that takes its tone seriously, those controls are not a luxury; they are the difference between a room people enjoy and a room people leave.

When to use a Space instead of a single room

Use a single room when the group is small and talks about one thing, such as a family chat or a project team of six. Move to a Space when the group grows past about thirty active members, when more than one topic keeps colliding, or when newcomers need a clear map of where to go. A Space gives new members a directory of rooms instead of a wall of mixed messages, and it lets admins tune each room separately, so the announcements room can stay quiet while the chat room stays lively.

Voice and Video Calls With Element Call

Calling in Element has changed more than any other part of the app. Element Call is now the built-in calling system, replacing the older peer-to-peer call path for group calls. It runs on a shared calling backend, supports larger group calls than the old system could handle, and keeps the call inside the room so people can join from the same place they were already chatting. One-to-one calls are simple: tap the call button in a direct message, and the other person gets a ringing notification.

In my testing, a one-to-one voice call sounded clear on a normal home connection, and a small group video call with four people stayed usable on a mid-range Android phone. The picture is not as polished as a dedicated video app, and a large call with a dozen video tiles will warm a phone and eat battery, but for a team stand-up or a community voice hangout it is good enough that I stopped opening a second app for it. Screen sharing is available on desktop, which helps when a group needs to look at the same document together.

Polls, Location Sharing and Voice Messages

Smaller features add up in daily use. Polls let a group vote without leaving the room, and the results update live as people answer. Location sharing lets you send a static pin or a live location to a direct message or a room, which helps when friends are meeting at a place none of you knows well. Voice messages record a short audio clip inside the chat, so you can explain something faster than typing it, and the recipient can listen at their own pace.

File sharing in Element covers images, video, documents, and audio, with previews for pictures and a clear download path for files. The app shows upload progress, and large files are handled by the homeserver limits rather than by the app itself, so the maximum size depends on the server you use. On the large public server the limit is generous enough for photos and short clips, while very large video files are better shared as a link. Search covers message text across rooms, and filters let you narrow results to files, images, or a single room when the history is long.

Update Benefits: What Recent Element Updates Actually Improve

Recent Element updates have focused on speed, reliability, and making the first week easier, and those are the right priorities for an app that used to feel heavy. The biggest change is Element X, the rewritten Android app built on a Rust core with sliding sync, which only fetches the messages you actually look at instead of syncing everything at once. The classic Element app is still available, and the two apps share the same accounts, rooms, and history, so you can try Element X without losing anything.

Sliding sync is the change you feel first. On the classic app, joining many large rooms meant a long first sync and a phone that worked hard in the background. Element X loads the rooms you open, keeps the room list light, and starts faster on a phone that has been off for a few days. In my use, the room list appeared in seconds where the older app sometimes needed a noticeably longer wait. The trade-off is that Element X is still catching up on some smaller features, so a few settings and power-user options that exist in the classic app are not there yet, and the team adds them in stages.

Other recent updates are quieter but useful. Notification handling is more reliable, with per-room mute and mention-only modes that actually stick. Message editing and redaction feel faster, search returns results sooner, and the app copes better with a weak connection, showing what it has and fetching the rest when the signal improves. The composer has improved too, with better reply quoting and a cleaner way to format a message. None of these is a headline on its own, but together they remove the small frictions that used to make people drift away from Element after a month.

Security updates matter as well. The app has kept pace with changes in the Matrix encryption stack, including work on newer key exchange and on making verification clearer for new users. If you have used Element for a long time, it is worth opening Settings and checking that your sessions are verified and your key backup is turned on, because those two checks protect you if your phone is lost or replaced. A five-minute check once a year is cheap insurance for a chat history you care about.

How to Set Up Element and Join Your First Room

Setting up Element takes about ten minutes if you go slowly, and most of that time is choosing a username and verifying your device. The steps below work for the classic Element app and for Element X, with only small differences in where each setting sits. You do not need a phone number, and you do not need to hand over your contacts, which is one of the reasons privacy-minded people pick Element in the first place.

Create an account and pick a homeserver

Install Element, tap to create an account, and choose the default homeserver unless you already know you want a different one. Pick a username that you are happy for strangers to see in public rooms, because it will appear next to your messages. Set a strong password and keep it somewhere safe, then confirm your email if the server asks for it. Your full address will look like @yourname:matrix.org, and that address is how people on other servers find you.

Verify your devices and turn on key backup

After you sign in, open Settings and look for the security section. Verify the new session, then turn on the encryption key backup and write down the recovery key or passphrase in a safe place, such as a password manager. This backup is what lets you read older encrypted messages after you sign in on a new phone. Skip this step and you may find old messages unreadable on the new device, which is a frustrating surprise that is easy to avoid now.

Join rooms and tune notifications

Start with one room you care about, either by following an invite link or by searching the public room directory. Read for a day before posting, so you learn the tone and the rules. Then open the room settings and set notifications to mentions only for busy rooms, and to all messages for the small rooms where every message matters. That single habit keeps Element quiet enough to live with, and it is the difference between an app you check gladly and an app you mute entirely.

Element Compared With Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram

Comparing Element with the messengers most people already use shows why there is no single best choice, only a best choice for a particular job. Signal is the simplest private messenger, WhatsApp is the one almost everyone already has, Telegram is the fast, feature-rich option with huge groups, and Element is the open, federated option for people who want control. The table below puts the same criteria side by side so you can see the trade-offs at a glance.

That table explains the real divide. If your friends are all on WhatsApp, Element will not replace it for them, and asking everyone to move is a losing battle. If you run a community that needs public rooms, moderation, and no single owner, Element is the strongest option on the list. Signal wins for simple private chats with friends who care about privacy but do not want to learn new concepts. Telegram wins for huge public channels and a polished media experience, at the cost of encryption that is not on by default. I keep Element for communities and Signal for private chats, and that split has worked better than trying to force one app to do everything.

If you enjoy Element then the MeWe article is a useful next read because it covers a fellow social app with a similar daily rhythm. Readers who compare options often open the ShareChat article next, and it helps to see how a different community handles the same everyday tasks. For a third perspective the Signal article is worth a look because it shows another approach to private messaging and group chat.

Element Pros and Cons From Daily Use

After weeks of daily use, the honest picture is warm but not uncritical. Element does its core job well, and it does a few things no mainstream messenger can match. It also asks more of you at the start, and a few rough edges remain, especially for people who expect everything to work with zero setup. Here is the balance as I found it.

Open federation and your choice of homeserver is the feature that sets Element apart from every closed messenger. You can move between apps and servers without losing the network, and a community can run its own server under its own rules.

Pros: first, encryption is on by default in private rooms, and verification is clear enough that a careful user can check it in a minute. Second, rooms, Spaces, threads, and polls give large communities real structure instead of one endless scroll. Third, Element works on Android, iOS, desktop, and the web with the same account, so a conversation follows you between devices. Fourth, the app is open source, which means anyone can inspect the code, and that openness is a real privacy benefit, not just a slogan. Fifth, group calls through Element Call keep voice and video inside the room where the discussion already lives.

Cons: first, the first setup is heavier than a normal messenger, because homeservers, verification, and key backup are new ideas for most people. Second, the app can feel slower than its rivals when you belong to many large rooms, and the first sync on a new device still takes patience. Third, some friends will never join, so Element works best as a second messenger for communities rather than a replacement for the app your family already uses. Fourth, a few features in Element X are still catching up with the classic app, so power users may need to keep both apps in mind for now.

Who Element Is For and Who Should Pick Something Else

Element is for people who run or join communities and want those communities to have structure, moderation, and a home that no single company can take away. Open-source projects, gaming clans, study groups, local clubs, and small teams all fit that description, and they are the groups I have seen thrive on Element. It is also for privacy-minded users who want encryption without a phone number and who like the idea of choosing their own server.

Element is a weaker pick for someone who only messages a small circle of friends and family, because the setup cost buys little when the group is tiny and everyone already uses the same app. It is also a weaker pick for someone who wants the slickest media experience or the biggest sticker library, because Element is built for conversation and organisation first, and fun extras second. That said, even a casual user can enjoy Element if they join one good community and let the app settle into a daily habit of short checks.

Troubleshooting is mostly simple. If messages will not send, check your connection first, then check whether the room is encrypted and your session is verified. If notifications are silent, look at the per-room notification setting before the phone-wide setting, because a room set to mentions only will stay quiet on purpose. If the app feels slow, try Element X, which syncs less data up front, or leave a few very large rooms you no longer read. If a message shows as undecryptable, verify the sending device and check that your key backup is turned on, because those two steps fix most cases.

Element FAQ

Is Element really free to use?

Yes, the Element apps are free and open source, and the Matrix protocol is free to use. The large public homeserver is free for personal accounts, while running your own server costs whatever your hosting costs. Some companies sell hosted Matrix services with support, but a personal user does not need to pay anything to chat, call, and join rooms.

Does Element need my phone number?

No, Element does not need a phone number to create an account. You sign up with a username and a password on a homeserver, and an email address is used only where the server asks for one. That is a real difference from Signal, WhatsApp, and Telegram, and it is one of the reasons people who guard their number pick Element.

Is Element more private than WhatsApp?

Element gives you more control, but the answer depends on what you mean by private. Element chats in private rooms are end-to-end encrypted, you can choose your server, and no phone number is required. WhatsApp also encrypts chats by default and is far easier to set up, but it is a closed service tied to a number and owned by a large company. For a community that wants its own server and its own rules, Element is the stronger privacy choice; for a quick chat with family, WhatsApp is the easier one.

What is the difference between Element and Element X?

Element is the classic app with the full set of features, while Element X is a rewritten app with a faster Rust core and sliding sync, so it starts faster and uses less data on first sync. Both use the same account and the same rooms. Element X is still adding some smaller features, so many people try Element X first and keep the classic app as a backup until the new app covers everything they need.

Can I use Element on my computer as well as my phone?

Yes, Element has desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux, plus a web client that runs in a browser. Sign in with the same account, verify the new session, and your rooms and history follow you. That cross-device habit is one of the quiet strengths of Element, because a long conversation is easier to follow on a big screen and a quick reply is easier on a phone.

Final Verdict: Is Element Worth Keeping on Your Phone?

My verdict after a month is that Element earns its place for anyone who belongs to a community that matters to them. The encryption is real, the room structure is the best I have used for a large group, and the open network means the community is not locked into one company. The setup takes a little patience, and the app is not the prettiest messenger on my phone, but those are fair costs for what it gives back.

Try it this way: install Element, join one room you care about, verify your device, set notifications to mentions only, and give it a week of short daily visits. If that room becomes part of your day, Element has done its job. When you are ready, Click here to download the Element app and start with the classic app, then try Element X once you are settled. A similar app is worth a quick look too: Click here to download the MeWe app. For a second option, Click here to download the ShareChat app.