Using Keet as a P2P Messaging AppUsing Keet as a P2P Messaging App

I really like the concept of Keet - middleman-free communication. When they first launched their mobile app (a year or two ago?) I tried to use it but kept running into issues with my router.

Recently, I've been traveling a little and thought I'd give Keet another try. I use an esim for data and don't have a phone number, so services like Signal and WhatsApp are hard to use anyway.

Here's a brief rundown of my round2 impressions of the Keet mobile app.

ProsPros

• It was quick to install on my calyx pixel. Worked on family members normal google android phones, too.
• Account setup was fast (they give you 12 seed words to backup and that's your identity -- although I may be misremembering this part, should have taken notes).
• Feels a lot like telegram (create rooms and invite other people to chat in them)
• Images and larger file transfers are fast and work well.

ConsCons

• Some messages randomly get dropped. (not sure what causes this -- we were using it on a variety of different wifi and cellular data networks). It was frustrating though because we were never quite certain if one of us was trying to message the other.
• Sometimes I would see a notification for a message, but upon opening the app it wouldn't be there. I'd have to close the app and restart it to get the messages to update.
• Notifications may have been misconfigured, but using keet for voice calling is kinda like using Zoom. You have to join the room and this never triggered a notification on any of our phones. Once we did this, it was just like a normal phone call, but often we missed when the other was trying to start a call..

I haven't tested it out on desktop yet. Keet still feels like a beta, even though it doesn't look like one.