13 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
13 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
# How does it work?
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Matrix is really a **decentralised conversation store** rather than a messaging protocol.
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When you send a message in Matrix, it is replicated over all the servers whose
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users are participating in a given conversation - similarly to how commits are replicated between Git repositories.
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There is no single point of control or failure in a Matrix conversation which spans multiple servers:
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the act of communication with someone elsewhere in Matrix shares ownership of the conversation equally with them.
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Even if your server goes offline, the conversation can continue uninterrupted elsewhere until it returns.
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This means that every server has total self-sovereignty over its users data - and anyone can choose or run their own server and participate in the wider Matrix network.
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This is how Matrix democratises control over communication.
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By default, Matrix uses simple [HTTPS+JSON APIs](https://spec.matrix.org/latest/client-server-api/#api-standards) as its baseline transport, but also embraces more sophisticated transports such as [WebSockets](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/blob/master/attic/drafts/websockets.rst) or [ultra-low-bandwidth Matrix](/blog/2019/03/12/breaking-the-100-bps-barrier-with-matrix-meshsim-coap-proxy) via CoAP+Noise. |