🚧 Adoption Blockers: What is the most anoying missing Feature to you?

[uhgwt436]

Last time I tried it together with a friend, also using DC on Android, it did not seem to work. Not sure if we configured something wrong or not but we could not get locations updated on each other’s phones. I did post a message in this forum but never saw a reply. I am not able to test it again for quite some time.

Perhaps you can confirm that continuous streaming does work on Android? By the way, how often is the location updated and sent to the other person?

[tapete]

For me, the most important topic is the concept how delta chat should be used. The current concept is that there are “chats” and there are “emails”. The chats get moved to a different folder by delta chat (I know I can deactivate this feature). I think, this concept is not a good solution because:

• For me there is no clear distinction between chats and e-mails
• People, who installed delta chat from the app store, are confused if they should use it parallel to there old mail app or replace there mail app
• Than people will use delta chat and other clients like K9 at the same time with the same email account. This will lead to problems like “why does K9 notify me about new emails when I get a chat message” or “why are some mails in Inbox and some mails in chat folder”.
• Every feature, which is optimized for delta chat to delta chat communication, is critical as only very few people can benefit from it. Almost all communication will be between delta chat and common mail clients.
• Delta chat benefits from the fact that everybody has an e-mail address. This advantage should not be given up by a concept where delta chat is optimized for delta chat to delta chat communication.

I try to use delta chat as a regular mail client and love it this way. I think it should also be promoted as a regular mail client.

[mbeko]

From the most to the least annoying missing features:

1. Easy handling of multiple accounts.

   The best would be one integrated chat view like in the Conversations app, but global notifications and a global indicator of the unread message count would already help a lot

2. Multiple attachments in one message.

   Not only is it more tedious to send multiple photos one by one, I also feel bad that my non-Delta contacts get multiple e-mails

3. Adding text to voice messages like one can to other attachment.

   This is useful e.g. to provide links relating to things mentioned in the audio. For non-Delta contacts, it can be annoying if they get one e-mail with the audio and another one with the related text

4. Changing the e-mail subject easily.

   It can be confusing for non-Delta contacts to discuss different topics under the always same subject

5. Marking messages as unread.

[mbeko]

@Sandra

I can barely get on OMEMO myself for lack of a friendly client.

I’m successfully using Conversations and Dino with OMEMO. Feel free to send me a message if you want to discuss it.

[Sandra]

Thank you for the helpful offer, I do appreciate that.
I know about Conversations

By friendly client, I meant a client that’d be part of another app I’m already using (like IRC/Bitlbee or Delta Chat). I don’t wanna be juggling four messaging apps.

I’ve found an OMEMO plugin for the XMPP library that simplebot uses so in the future, OMEMO via Delta Chat could become a reality for me. That’d be perfect. Already spending all day in Delta Chat as it is. Although I’m a li’l hung up on Python basics.

[Sandra]

@mbeko

It can be confusing for non-Delta contacts to discuss different topics under the always same subject

This is possible. Start a new group in Delta Chat with the new group name be the new subject but same members.

It’s time consuming, cumbersome, and can look ugly in Delta Chat with a bunch of extra threads. (OTOH I do have some threads I like to be able to post to from the iOS share sheet and this is the only way to do that.)

Normally, what I’ve started doing lately is to just send the first email in a thread from my other MUA (I have the same autocrypt key in there) and BCC myself so it shows up in Delta. Especially a good idea with new contacts.

I agree that Delta Chat could be made easier here.

Marking messages as unread.

Maybe. There are some possible counter arguments.

1. That Delta Chat doesn’t have a stark “read/unread” visual difference has advantages. It makes messages less something you have to “deal with” or “process”. Instead they just come in.

2. For those that do want an “inbox zero” style policy, there is the archive mode. Archive everything you’e dealt with and only leave what you still wanna deal with.

3. What I do instead is to copy stuff I wanna deal with later to Reminders. (Being able to send messages to the share sheet, or even to Reminders directly, would make that easier. As it is, I copy them then run a shortcut that sends clipboard text to reminders.) That way, the inbox isn’t a TODO list which makes it a chill place to hang out and learn new stuff. (OTOH I’m spoiled by my other MUA automatically indexing and sorting everything.)

[mbeko]

@Sandra

Start a new group in Delta Chat with the new group name be the new subject but same members.

Thanks, good to know. I agree that this feels strange, especially when you’re only writing with one person. I will edit my post to add the “make it easier” part.

@Sandra

There are some possible counter arguments.

Thanks, but that is quite far from the simpler process that I apply in several other chat apps – and I know I’m not the only one. I’m aware that there are many possible processes and Delta Chat can’t cater to all of them. I just felt it’d be reasonable to enable such a familiar pattern by implementing a basic feature of the underlying protocol that is also available in other chat apps.

Usually, I open a message and skim it to get a feeling for how urgent it is. If it doesn’t need an action right now, I mark it as unread and answer later. Especially with Delta Chat where people can write longer e-mails, it’s hard to ignore that “process later” aspect.

My inbox is still a chill place as I don’t keep many unread messages. But it does happen, even for chat-like messages, that I don’t reply on the spot. So it would be helpful to be able to mark those few messages as unread instead of having to archive everything else (i.e. the majority).

[webratte]

This one. But I’m not sure. Is it a bug or a misding feature.

Schlechtes Handling von Extentionsadressen - "gelöst"

Eine andere, vielleicht elegantere Lösung wäre es, wenn Delta Chat nur die Nachrichten anzeigen würde bei denen die in Delta Chat angebene Adresse (in meinem Beispiel die Extentions-Adresse) im "An: " Feld steht. So wie es jetzt ist, ist Delta Chat für mich und mindestens zwei Leuten aus meinem Umfeld nicht nutzbar.

[darhma]

Another thing that I find rather inconvenient is the fact that in the desktop version (linux) the chats open at the end of the last message and not at the beginning of the first unread message.

[CrazyM]

I would like to have the notification symbol for a new message on my Android phone to vanish after I read the message e.g. in the desktop app or on my Android tablet.

[link2xt]

This is the same thing as @darhma requested above, already implemented in nightlies. The only requirement is that the server supports CONDSTORE extension.

[kkimber]

I agree “notifications”, not work many android phone models.

[Raiden]

Hi there,
as already mentioned, the problem with Push Notifications on iOS is often a sticking point.
Would it be possible to use the Apple Notification Service with iCloud Email Accounts as an option?
You could point out the privacy issues in the settings.
Most iOS users should have an iCloud Email Account and could then decide whether privacy or convenience is more important to them.
I think the better DC can be used as a normal email client, the easier it is to convince someone.
If you start using the app for emails, you will increasingly use it as a messenger.
In my opinion, these three small changes could help improve DC in this regard:

• Possibility to display a field for the subject, similar to Apple Messenger. For example via a symbol on the right in the input field.

• For a better overview, put the subject in the speech bubbles in bold and on a separate line.

• It would make it easier to write longer emails if the input field could be enlarged if necessary. For example an arrow pointing up. When the user taps on it, the box would expand upwards.

But for me personally, only these two functions are really important:

• Export chat history as text, PDF or HTML file

• The ability to jump to a specific date in the chat history. A feature that is oddly absent in most messengers.

[Simon]

@Raiden

Possibility to display a field for the subject, similar to Apple Messenger. For example via a symbol on the right in the input field.

iMessage has this? or what do you mean by ‘Apple Messenger’?

@Raiden

Would it be possible to use the Apple Notification Service with iCloud Email Accounts as an option?

how should we get push notifications for iCloud mail? it’s probably harder to talk to apple to implement DC compatibility stuff than if we would talk to smaller providers.

[Raiden]

Sorry, I mean iMessage of course.
You can enable this feature in the settings.
The field for the subject then appears above the input field.
In the speech bubbles, the subject is shown in bold on a separate line.

https://secinfinity.net/so-fugen-sie-nachrichten-auf-dem-iphone-eine-betreffzeile-hinzu/

I’m not an expert, but so far I’ve always understood the PUSH system like this:
A message arrives on a server (e.g. WhatsApp), which informs the APNS and the Apple PUSH server then informs the device about the message that has arrived.
This cannot work with e-mails because the provider does not have the Apple user id.
The iCloud mail server, on the other hand, has this data.
For me, new e-mails are always displayed immediately in the Mail app (PUSH is activated).
Wouldn’t it be possible for DC to also use this function for iCloud mail accounts?
Otherwise, DeltaChat works fine with iCloud mail.

[Simon]

@Raiden

This cannot work with e-mails because the provider does not have the Apple user id.

can work with the app publisher (us) running a relay server that provides an api to ping/wake up iDevices. So the deltachat client registers at the relay and if the provider supports it it gets the token that they can use at the relay to wakeup the device when a new message comes in. That’s actually the second step in our plan with the heartbeat server (that currently tries to wake up DC all 10min on all devices).

@Raiden

For me, new e-mails are always displayed immediately in the Mail app (PUSH is activated).
Wouldn’t it be possible for DC to also use this function for iCloud mail accounts?

I believe the system mail app still has an exception that it is not killed in the background and as such can use IMAP push/idle. (also iCloud might trigger a push notification over APN)
There is a program that we can apply to that DC can be set as default mail app on iOS, but I don’t know if we get the background privilege too in that case.
In anywise it’s not just programming, but also burocratic communication with apple that nobody of use came down to do, yet. Or the relay idea, which is also 7% programming, 93% convincing providers to support it. (so the idea was to first program and test with a test provider and then try to convince the other providers with an easy solution that they can deploy quickly)

[Raiden]

I didn’t realize that the provider of an app always needs its own server.
I thought in this particular case the Apple mail server would be the provider, which informs the APNS.

@Simon

I believe the system mail app still has an exception that it is not killed in the background and as such can use IMAP push/idle. (also iCloud might trigger a push notification over APN)
There is a program that we can apply to that DC can be set as default mail app on iOS, but I don’t know if we get the background privilege too in that case.

Perhaps mail apps inherently have this permission.
I have tested Spark with 3 different mail accounts. On iCloud and GMX, PUSH worked regardless of whether Spark was set up as the primary mail app. Only one account (company) didn’t work.

[link2xt]

@Raiden

I have tested Spark with 3 different mail accounts. On iCloud and GMX, PUSH worked regardless of whether Spark was set up as the primary mail app. Only one account (company) didn’t work.

Spark has a server that acts as a proxy between your email server and your mobile phone. You give your login and password to Spark server, then Spark server connects to your email server and downloads messages to notify you about any new messages. See their privacy policy, it specifically talks about your email credentials being sent to “Spark Services”:

OAuth login or mail server credentials: Spark requires your credentials to log into your mail system in order to receive, search, compose and send email messages and other communication. Without such access, our Product won’t be able to provide you with the necessary communication experience. In order for you to take full advantage of additional App and Service features, such as “send later”, “sync between devices” and where allowed by Apple – “push notifications” we use Spark Services. Without using these services, none of the features mentioned above will function.

Delta Chat does not have such a proxy server controlled by app developers and your email credentials are only sent to your email provider directly.

[Raiden]

Thank you for the information.
I have changed my passwords.

[anon15606487]

Hey there.

Two features I’m missing for using delta.chat more often is what I call ‘mailPhone’ and another feature is using web auth in delta.chat desktop.