LoginSign Up
← Back to all sparks
E

Element

COMMS
Velocity5.0

Secure Matrix-based team messaging and collaboration client

element.io ↗

Element 1.12.34 RC pops calls into picture-in-picture and lets modules shut off public rooms.

encryptionrecovery-keysmodule-apielement-calladmin-controls
◆Current state
Element Web spent October on crypto UX: mandatory device verification, removal of guest tokens and NEB links, and a shorter recovery-key flow in 1.12.33. The 1.12.34 release candidate widens the scope. Element Call can move into an OS-level picture-in-picture window, modules can disable public rooms entirely, users can generate a recovery key when logging out of their last device, and users with no encrypted chats see a softer reset warning.
◆Where it's heading
Two tracks run in parallel. The encryption work is moving from enforcement to lowering the cost of mistakes, with prompts at logout and gentler reset paths. The Module API keeps gaining switches that let deployments restrict the client, which suits managed installs.
◆Prediction
Expect 1.12.34 to ship close to this RC, with further Module API controls and the labs timeline, now showing read receipts, moving toward default.

◆Recent moves

  1. 2d ago

    1.12.34 RC: call picture-in-picture, module switch for public rooms

    The 1.12.34 candidate adds OS-level picture-in-picture for Element Call, a module hook to disable public rooms, and a recovery-key prompt when logging out of the last device. It continues the recovery-key thread from 1.12.33 while giving admins another restriction lever.

    View source ↗
  2. 9d ago

    Element 1.12.33 ships simpler recovery keys, ends libolm migration

    The final 1.12.33 ships the RC unchanged: a shorter recovery-key setup, a logout prompt about the recovery key, unskippable device verification and the end of libolm session migration. It closes another step in Element's move to enforced, Rust-only encryption.

    View source ↗
  3. 17d ago

    1.12.33 RC simplifies recovery keys, drops libolm migration

    The 1.12.33 release candidate removes the intro screen from recovery-key creation, adds a logout prompt about the key, and drops libolm session migration. It continues the crypto UX cleanup started in 1.12.31.

    View source ↗
  4. 20d ago

    Element 1.12.32 removes guest tokens and NEB links to fix 2 advisories

    A security release that removes NEB starter links and guest access tokens to close two advisories. Cutting legacy entry points rather than patching them matches the release train's shrinking-surface pattern.

    View source ↗
  5. 23d ago

    Element 1.12.31 makes device verification mandatory by default

    1.12.31 makes device verification mandatory by default and adds Markdown and PDF viewers in the right panel. The verification change is the one that shapes the rest of the month's releases.

    View source ↗
  6. 28d ago

    1.12.31 second release candidate, feature list unchanged

    A second release candidate with an unchanged feature list; it exists to stabilise 1.12.31 before release.

    View source ↗