BwMessenger for Bundeswehr
A secure messaging app for the German Armed Forces
Matrix is 21st century communication
BwMessenger sets a new gold standard for secure messaging and collaboration within nation security. It is the cornerstone of the Bundeswehr's communication infrastructure, used on a daily basis by more than 100,000 people across Germany’s Armed Forces.
Driving this groundbreaking secure communication is the open source Matrix protocol.
The reason for BwMessenger
Traditional consumer-grade messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram fell short of meeting the stringent confidentiality and data security standards required by the Bundeswehr.
Recognising the problem, the Bundeswehr in collaboration with its digitisation partner BWI GmbH, embarked on a journey…
The search for a solution led them to the Matrix protocol. BWI then chose to partner with Element, based on its Matrix expertise and its work in developing Tchap, the French government’s secure communications platform.
Together, BWI and Element built a secure, decentralized and digitally sovereign messenger with a custom frontend client (BwMessenger), server-side functions and a robust private network federation to meet the Bundeswehr’s stringent requirements.
The Matrix protocol not only provides digital sovereignty for real-time communications but also enables users to govern their data.
The open-source nature of Matrix allows BWI and the Bundeswehr to customise and expand their messenger app to suit their specific needs: real-time communications without limitations.
Due to the nature of open source and open standards anyone can create a Matrix server which hosts user accounts. By design Matrix allows anyone to do this.
For anyone who is a member of the Bundeswehr, BwMessenger is available on Google Play and Apple’s AppStore
Advancement through open source code
BwMessenger showcases how the open source benefits of Matrix can be harnessed to meet unique communication needs whilst offering security, scalability, and digital sovereignty.
