I have read in the TOS for the Matrix server that all messages are deleted after one year. If I am talking with someone, does that mean that messages that are older than a year are deleted on my side, or both sides of the conversation? What if the chat is E2EE? If I am using a device that is signed in and has seen old messages, are they removed from that device too?
I assume the part in the TOS refers to an experimental feature of Synapse that allows setting a message retention time. I think what it does is to set a deleted flag in the DAG and maybe overwrite the internal storage…but deleting anything on Matrix is surprisingly difficult and this experimental feature comes with a big disclaimer in the config file.
However, the ever increasing storage requirements are a serious issue for large public Matrix servers, having resulted in some of them shutting down permanently and the tchncs one had to do expensive hardware upgrades solely because of that.
Should I still consider joining tchncs then? I don’t really want to overload their servers. I’m only in a few rooms with little activity, though.
Its not a big deal to have one more user.