> BUILT ON OPEN STANDARDS. PRIVATE WHEN NEEDED.
> Running a private group chat? As soon as the AT protocol supports private data, we'll work on implementing it and giving you the option to create private communities.
Not exactly "private when needed" then, is it? It's disingenuous to even mention this in the marketing copy.
“Open social” is so much bs compressed in a couple of buzzwords.
By using ATProto, Colibri fundamentally makes all of your communication within any community completely public to everyone on the internet.
That’s fine for something like Twitter, where the product sets the expectation of such a thing. You can imagine how big of an issue this is when you try to do it in a trusted community model. Add on that Discord is used by kids who likely don’t know this and you can see why this is dangerous.
I consider this not only just a liability but bordering negligence. It is fundamentally broken, at an architectural level
Also, feel free to DM me (@colibri.social) on Bluesky if you want to migrate to the Colibri PDS! We do host one ourselves.
it might be on https://bsky.social, https://npmx.dev/pds or sitting next to your router in your living room in the form of a raspberry pi (https://atproto.com/guides/self-hosting)
How is the chat displayed if messages are scattered among multiple PDSes?
What about the community metadata, where is it stored?
From a product uptake perspective, I could suggest that since a user is still building trust when they begin use - to only require as few permissions as needed. I'd punt that profile update requirement out personally for another method later.
An example might be when a user has used your app for N sessions, or after N months.
Second, the moderators can choose to remove someone who has joined the community in bad faith.
Third, it is entirely different than broadcasting every single action taken by every single user in every single community on the entire protocol to anyone with one URL.
A few other landing page issues if you feel like addressing them:
- Attempting to navigate with the Tab key results in tab order following nav elements once, where focus indicators aren't visible, and then the same elements get iterated over again but this time focus indicators are visible.
- Tab order doesn't include screenshots and jumps to the FAQ
- Clicking a thumbnail shows the larger image but without any elements for closing the overlay
- Pressing Esc doesn't close the overlay
- No skip links on any of the pages
> But that’s not where you want your chats now is it? E2EE? And how does it keep it all private since apparently the Bluesky bros haven't figured that part out?
It honestly depends. Right now, Colibri is meant to function for communities that are public anyway. If you're a streamer, an open source dev community, Colibri can help you with talking to people who don't want to be locked in by big corporations. As the E2EE and private data, the Bluesky people have posted a new proposal for that only a few days ago, which I'm already thinking about how to implement: https://dholms.leaflet.pub/3mhj6bcqats2o
But, yes, for now, chats are public. Private data will hopefully be a thing soon on the network.
It's a very cool product but you have to let people know their messages aren't private.
Chats where you truly own your data.
Colibri is an open source chat platform built on the AT protocol for communities big and small.
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From quick chats and drop-in voice or video calls to organized forum discussions, Colibri gives your community the perfect space to stay connected and share what matters.

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Your data isn’t trapped on our servers. Colibri is built on the AT Protocol, the open network with 40M+ users, where you literally own your profile and messages.


Running more than just a group chat? Set up custom roles, manage permissions, and use built-in moderation to keep your community safe.


Future-proofed.
Running a private group chat? As soon as the AT protocol supports private data, we'll work on implementing it and giving you the option to create private communities.
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Stuff you might ask about.
The AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol) is an open, decentralized network originally created by the team behind Bluesky. It lets you truly own your identity and data - your account, posts, and social graph aren't locked into any single platform. With over 40 million users, it's a growing foundation for the next generation of social apps.