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Element (Matrix)

Visioconférence · Royaume-Uni
Fondé en 2017 · element.io

UK-headquartered open-source Matrix protocol commercialisation; powers Bundeswehr BwMessenger + French Tchap + NATO + UN.

Element (Matrix) propose un hébergement européen au Royaume-Uni, mais une maison mère ou un sous-traitant américain laisse une exposition matérielle au CLOUD Act. Référencé dans la catégorie Visioconférence.

Notes d’évaluation

Element Creations Limited (UK, formerly New Vector Ltd, founded 2017; renamed 2025) is the commercial entity behind the open-source Matrix decentralised messaging protocol created by Matthew Hodgson and Amandine Le Pape. Independent custody of the protocol sits with the Matrix.org Foundation (2018). The company holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, and OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230, runs regional subsidiaries in Germany (Element Software GmbH) and France (Element Software SARL) for EU-customer contracting, and powers the German Bundeswehr's BwMessenger (Bundeswehr-wide secure messaging) and the French government's Tchap + Visio inside La Suite numérique. Other customers: NATO, UN, HM Government, US Space Force, US Marines, Swedish agencies. Open-source Matrix protocol + self-host as the default deployment pattern + multi-entity EU contracting: ISO 27001 certified, public DPA with disclosed sub-processors, open-source clients. The managed Element Cloud carries material CLOUD Act exposure: it runs on AWS (US hyperscaler) with US-incorporated sub-processors for CRM (HubSpot), analytics (PostHog) and comms (Twilio). Message content is E2EE, but account/operational data sits with US-jurisdiction processors, the same managed-vs-self-host duality as other sovereign messengers. Self-hosting on EU infrastructure removes the exposure entirely (effective_cloud_act_if_self_hosted: none), which is the procurement-default path for the Bundeswehr BwMessenger and French Tchap deployments.

Constats

CLOUD Act
Actionnariat
Sous-traitants
6 · 5 US

Signaux vérifiés

Juridiction
  • Hébergement UE / adéquation: Oui
  • Opérateur UE / adéquation: Oui
  • Aucune exposition au CLOUD Act: Non
Transparence
  • DPA public: Oui
  • Sous-traitants divulgués: Oui
  • Clients open source: Oui
  • Certification tierce: Oui
CLOUD Act selon le déploiement

L'exposition dépend de votre mode d'exploitation.

SaaS hébergé (par défaut)

Exploité par l'éditeur : les sous-traitants ci-dessous s'appliquent.

Auto-hébergé (open source)

Déployez sur votre propre infrastructure UE et vous contrôlez l'hébergement et chaque sous-traitant.

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À propos de Element (Matrix)

Element is the commercial entity behind the open-source Matrix decentralised messaging-and-collaboration protocol, a Slack / Microsoft Teams / WhatsApp / Signal alternative engineered specifically for digital sovereignty and federation. The protocol was created in 2014 by Matthew Hodgson (CEO/CTO) and Amandine Le Pape (COO) while they were working at Amdocs; the commercial entity New Vector Ltd was spun out in 2017, rebranded to Element in 2020, and renamed Element Creations Limited in 2025. The Matrix protocol itself is custodied by the independent Matrix.org Foundation (established 2018), separate from Element the company, which gives the protocol the same kind of structural independence that the Linux Foundation provides for Linux.

Element's procurement-grade positioning is unmatched in the EU-sovereignty conversation. The German Bundeswehr's BwMessenger (the official secure messenger used daily by the entirety of Germany's Armed Forces) is a fork of Element built by BWI GmbH (Bundeswehr's IT supplier) and Element together; BwMessenger is described in Bundeswehr / BWI communications as "the cornerstone of the Bundeswehr's communication infrastructure". The French government's Tchap and Visio (the chat and video-conferencing components of La Suite numérique, the French government workspace suite) are both built on Matrix. Other reference customers include NATO, UN, HM Government, US Space Force, US Marines, and Swedish agencies. Certifications: ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 (open-source supply-chain compliance).

Deployment is sovereign-friendly by design. Element Server Suite is sold as software that customers run on their own infrastructure, including air-gapped deployments for defence and government use, and the Matrix protocol itself is fully open source (Apache 2.0). Element's regional structure includes Element Software GmbH (Germany) and Element Software SARL (France) for EU-customer contracting, alongside the UK parent (Element Creations Ltd) and a US subsidiary (Element Software Inc). Element Cloud is the managed SaaS option. Investors include Automattic, Notion, First Minute Capital, Status, Protocol Labs, and Metaplanet. Best fit: governments, defence ministries, regulated industries, and any organisation that wants federated cross-organisation communication on a sovereign-deployable open-source protocol. The UK post-Brexit jurisdiction (other ownership tier) is the only nuance for the strictest procurement criteria. The German + French subsidiaries are available for buyers who need an EU-incorporated counterparty.

Carte des sous-traitants · 6

Source
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) US
    États-Unis

    Cloud infrastructure / hosting

  • HubSpot US
    États-Unis

    CRM / customer management

  • PostHog US
    États-Unis

    Product analytics

  • Stripe US
    Royaume-Uni

    Payment processing (UK entity, US parent)

  • Twilio US
    États-Unis

    Communications / SMS services

  • Zammad EU
    Allemagne

    Customer support / ticketing

Source : liste publiée des sous-traitants de l’éditeur, lue le 26 août 2026.

5 sous-traitants sur 6 sont détenus par des capitaux américains ou établis aux États-Unis. Exposition au CLOUD Act applicable.

Référentiels & certifications

ISO/IEC 27001
Active

Matrice de fonctionnalités

Tableau 2Fonctionnalités de Element (Matrix)

Auto-hébergeable Oui
Partage d’écran Oui
Chiffrement de bout en bout Oui
Accès navigateur (sans app) Oui

Intégration & accès

REST API Oui
SSO (SAML / OIDC) Oui

Conformité & gouvernance

Audit log Oui
Self-host / on-prem option Oui

Tarifs & paliers

Tarifs sur mesure

Contactez l’éditeur pour les tarifs par palier ou volume.

Voir la page tarifs

Documents publics

  • Contrat de sous-traitance (DPA)
    element.io/data-processing-agreement…
    Ouvrir
  • Liste des sous-traitants
    element.io/data-processing-agreement…
    Ouvrir
  • Conditions d'utilisation
    element.io/terms-of-use…
    Ouvrir

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