The free software movement shaped by GNU/Linux reminds us that control over our digital tools is essential to our freedom. Today, at the heart of this ongoing struggle, Jami embodies this philosophy by offering a genuinely free way to communicate. Fully distributed, end-to-end encrypted, and ad-free, Jami carries forward the spirit of the early free-software pioneers who fought to give users real autonomy.
A legacy in struggle
When the GNU project emerged in the early 1980s, it wasn’t just about writing code. It laid the foundations of a political and philosophical movement built on four core freedoms: to use, study, share, and modify software. A few years later, the rise of Linux transformed this vision into a global ecosystem open, transparent, and collectively shaped by millions of contributors.
Forty years later, this legacy lives on, but it is threatened by centralization and mass surveillance. That's where Jami comes in. Like Linux in its day, Jami is not just a technological alternative. It is a project that reminds us that digital freedom cannot be taken for granted: it must be defended, strengthened, and supported.
Free software: a philosophy that is still relevant today
The success of free software is based on a simple idea: software should never be a black box that controls its users. Yet even today, most consumer communication tools are closed and opaque. Users cannot verify their actual security or ensure that their data is not being resold.
With Jami, we find the very essence of free software:
- Transparency: the code is open, anyone can audit it.
- Community: the project is built collectively, like Linux. Users are not just passive customers, but actors who can participate in the development and reliability of the software.
- Independence: no central server, no “owner” of your exchanges.
This is not just a technical issue. It is a question of fundamental rights: whoever controls our communications controls our collective thinking. This approach reflects the legacy of free software: instead of depending on a company to communicate, we trust each other to build a robust tool.
Jami and the spirit of Linux
Linux has shown that a free project can establish itself as the backbone of the global digital world. From web servers to supercomputers, Linux is everywhere precisely because it is built on an open and decentralized model.
Jami extends this logic to the field of communications by taking a radically different architectural path. Instead of relying on central servers or a single point of control, each user becomes a node within the network. The result is an architecture that is fully distributed: every device communicates directly with its correspondent, without passing through an intermediary.
In practice, this means Jami operates entirely peer-to-peer. Your messages, audio calls, and video calls do not transit through a company-managed cloud or a central infrastructure. Your data stays on your devices, protected by end-to-end encryption and inaccessible to anyone who doesn’t hold the key.
Why free software remains necessary today
Some might say, “Free software has already won, Linux is everywhere.” But this can be misleading. Even if Linux powers much of the global infrastructure, the end-user experience remains largely shaped by a handful of digital giants.
Free software remains necessary for three reasons:
- Resisting centralization
Much of our digital life still gravitates around a few dominant platforms. A project like Jami offers an alternative by proposing a model that doesn’t rely on a central authority. - Protecting privacy
Data has become the black gold of the 21st century. Every conversation, every click is monetized. Free software allows us to escape this logic by offering tools without commercial exploitation of data. - Preserving ethics and sovereignty
Proprietary tools create dependency. When a platform decides to close an account, an entire business, sometimes a professional life, can collapse, as was the case with the announcement of Skype's closure at the beginning of the year. With Jami, there is no such arbitrariness: sovereignty belongs to the users.
Support a community project today
Like Linux, Jami would not exist without its community. Supporting Jami is not just about funding an application, it is about defending a certain idea of the internet: a common good, not a captive market.
It also means giving a secure tool to those who need it most: journalists, NGOs, activists, and citizens living under restrictive regimes. In situations where certain platforms may be blocked or monitored, a distributed architecture allows Jami to continue operating reliably.
The principle behind free software has always been about freedom, not cost.
Today, this idea matters more than ever. Jami, like GNU/Linux before it, embodies this struggle. The struggle for digital freedom in the face of centralization, surveillance, and the commodification of our lives.
The history of free software teaches us a simple lesson: freedom only survives if it is actively defended. But to continue this fight, the project needs concrete support.
Every contribution, whether technical or financial, feeds an ecosystem that rejects the logic of dependence and surveillance. By supporting Jami, you are defending a legacy, you are choosing a future where technology remains a tool for emancipation, not enslavement. Supporting Jami means affirming that communication must remain a right, not a commodity. It means continuing the legacy of Linux, but also preparing for the future: an internet where every user becomes an actor again, not just a consumer, or worse, a prosumer.
Thank you for your support.
