Compare Retro Hex Chat with corporate chat platforms across server ownership, message storage, call routing, AI training, source code access, and community control.
| Discord / Slack / Telegram | Retro Hex Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the server? | A corporation | You |
| Where are messages stored? | Their cloud, their terms | Your server, your database |
| Voice and video calls | Routed through their servers | Private P2P via WebRTC; channel conferences via your self-hosted SFU |
| Can they read your messages? | Yes — and they do | Access is controlled by your own server and policies |
| Data used for AI training? | Often, and without consent | Never. Your data is yours. |
| Can they ban your community? | Yes, at any time | No — you own the server |
| Source code | Closed. Trust them blindly. | Open source. Audit it yourself. |
No tracking. No profiling. No data harvesting. Just a chat server that respects your privacy.