Silent Text vs Element (formerly Riot)

Files can be attached to messages that will also be encrypted.

To pass EFF's security review Silent Text had to encrypt data in transit, the encryption had to be end-to-end, the app needed to provide forward secrecy, app's source code has to be open to independent review, users have to be able to verify contact's identities even with the service provider compromised, app's cryptographic design has to be well documented and app's source code has to have been audited in the last 12 months.

Messages on both senders and receivers phones can be set to delete after a set period of time.

It's possible to geotag messages to share location.

You're not confined within Element's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.

Element has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more inexperienced users to use it.

Element allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.

Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Element.

An open network for secure, decentralized communication.

Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown.

Search messages in your current room, or all the rooms you're in. Not subject to a message history limit like Slack.

Web browser
Linux
OS X
Windows
Android
iOS

An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.

With public rooms for many people, and you can create your own and let people from the community join.