● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact
Briar Project Continues in Maintenance Mode with Security Updates
Key points
- Briar will only provide essential updates moving forward.
- Project faced difficulties with battery usage and user experience.
- Funding from multiple organizations supports ongoing maintenance.
Project Status and Updates
Briar, the private messaging application, is currently in maintenance mode. This means it will only receive essential security updates and bug fixes while developers address existing issues. There were concerns about the project's discontinuation due to past discussions about shutting it down.
Challenges Faced
The Briar team has struggled with high battery consumption, unreliable background operations on Android, and a challenging user experience. They considered a complete rebuild or splitting the app into online and offline versions but had no funding and limited development time.
Funding and Support
Despite the challenges, Briar has attracted funding from various organizations, including the Small Media Foundation, Access Now, and the Open Technology Fund. This financial support enables the project to remain operational, albeit in a limited capacity.
Future Prospects
Although the project is scaling back, there are hopes for incremental improvements on longstanding issues in the future. The team remains committed to the project's purpose, inspired by the supportive community of users.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Briar will continue to operate in maintenance mode, focusing on essential security updates and fixing bugs. This decision comes after challenges in addressing longstanding issues like high battery usage and unreliable operation on Android.