This Hacker News discussion about Amber, an all-in-one messaging application, reveals several key themes and user concerns.
User Skepticism and Past Experiences
Several users express a degree of skepticism, drawing parallels to past attempts at unifying messaging services and the potential for disappointment. This sentiment is often rooted in a history of such initiatives failing to deliver on their promises.
- "as much as i want something like this to exist... fool me once, shame on thee; fool me twice, shame on me" said jshchnz, highlighting a cautious outlook based on prior experiences.
- "These tools always fall short, not because the teams making them are bad, but because the underlying chat tools they build on are adversarial to the idea of a third-party UI replacing their UI. A new entrant might escape their ire for a while, of course." noted kylecordes, pointing to the inherent challenges of integrating with proprietary chat platforms.
Essentiality of Visuals for User Understanding
A strong consensus emerges that the product's landing page is severely lacking in visual representation. Users repeatedly request screenshots and demonstration videos to better understand what Amber offers and how it functions.
- "You need screenshots on the front page. Put one front and center next to your hero text so it's right there above the fold." advised andrewmcwatters, with DmitryDolgopolo responding, "Great thought! We're fixing this right now."
- 0x264 echoed this sentiment: "Yes, pictures of the user interface will help a lot. Thanks!"
- giancarlostoro provided a more detailed suggestion: "Screenshots and gifs or something like your Loom, you need a little trailer thing that showcases the app, and its top use cases with minimal noise (minimal chat windows for demo purposes). Heck, start with a few messages, then flood in, and showcase how it helps to keep you organized, that sort of thing."
Concerns Regarding AI Integration and Privacy
The inclusion of AI features is a significant point of contention. Users express apprehension about AI processing private messages, its necessity, and potential privacy implications, even when presented as optional.
- "Three random services only, and "AI" for some reasons..." remarked ajsnigrutin, questioning the core value proposition.
- dingnuts voiced strong concerns: "AI feeding into a "private" database, so after the keylogger sends everything to OpenAI you can have a garbage summary! Or if it uses a local model, enjoy the warmth and sound of your GPU while it consumes all of your system resources for instant messaging on, well, as you put it, three random services"
- DmitryDolgopolo defended the AI features: "Our users (including top founders and VCs) usually trust us with the AI features because it saves time and thinking. However, you can turn off the AI features if you're into privacy. :)"
- giancarlostoro suggested a more cautious marketing approach: "> However, you can turn off the AI features if you're into full privacy. :) I think marketing for AI should always start off with "Includes opt-in AI features should you want them" instead of just "HEY WE HAVE AI" I feel like it would make a lot of people close the browser tab much later than expected."
- whilenot-dev pointed out a potential conflict: "This does conflict with the premise "All messages are end-to-end encrypted and go straight from your device to the network of choice"."
- emaro stated a general concern: "> Also the fact is that I don't need AI included into this software. Yup, the fact that every new service now is AI-first is troubling... it's literally the first thing said about Amber when going on their website. My tab says "Amber — AI-enabled all-in-on...". It's like the only thing they want you to know about their service."
End-to-End Encryption and Trust
The definition and implementation of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) are sources of confusion and concern. Users are focused on understanding how Amber handles messages across different protocols and whether true E2EE is maintained, especially in light of AI processing.
- "kingnothing: Not what I want to see from the homepage for an app that wants to read all of my messages."
- devilkin raised critical questions: "Where's your privacy policy? ... What encryption are you actually using? ... How could you ensure end-to-end encryption over multiple protocols, without either completely reverse engineering said protocols? If your answer here would be that you're using a central server where messages get passed between services (and thus decrypted), it isn't end-to-end."
- DmitryDolgopolo clarified: "We use native API or reverse-engineer a solution depending on the platform. This approach maintains the security standard as high as the original app. Everything is done locally on your computer."
- devilkin responded: "At that point calling it end-to-end encrypted is not true."
- richwater added to the trust issue: "Just because the messages themselves aren't proxied doesn't mean a service can't steal the content on the end device. I'm obviously not saying you are doing that, but the trust issue is my biggest issue here."
The concept of E2EE was further debated, with differing interpretations: * "warkdarrior: What definition of "end-to-end encrypted" do you refer to, if on-device processing does not qualify? Isn't your device one of the endpoints in E2EE?" * "magackame: In context of instant messaging E2EE usually means that service providers servers don't ever see the plaintext with messages stored on device. Just the transport encryption is already an expectation for all networking."
Platform Support and Feature Gaps
The limited number of supported services and the platform exclusivity (initially Mac-only) are significant drawbacks for many users, who are accustomed to broader compatibility or are on different operating systems.
- sjdrc urged clarity: "You write all messages multiple times, them clarify it's only 3 services. Stop that. If it doesn't support everything mainstream, don't claim "all"."
- pbiggar requested more integrations: "Would love you to add Signal, as well as DMs in Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn."
- dotancohen noted the lack of support for Linux and Android users: "I'm a Linux and Android user, so there's currently nothing for me to try..."
- saulpw simply stated: "Mac only." DmitryDolgopolo acknowledged: "Working on it" for platform expansion.
- Imustaskforhelp compared Amber to Beeper: "Also the fact is that I don't need AI included into this software. Its nice that it never touches your server but beeper is also moving forward in that direction and beeper is also open source and uses the matrix protocol so you can actually be free to use any matrix clients."
- emaro pointed out that Beeper is not open source, countering the claim made by Imustaskforhelp, and also found Amber's claim of superiority premature given its limited network support: "You obviously have different needs than what Beeper provides, but claiming it's better when you only support a fraction of the networks is a bit steep imo."
The Personal CRM Aspect
The inclusion of a personal CRM (Customer Relationship Management) feature is an interesting addition that resonates with some users, who are also seeking solutions in this area for managing their communications.
- "I'm most interested in the CRM. ... a page dedicated to the CRM features might get my email address on your mailing list." said dotancohen.
- "Personal CRM Interesting to hear I'm not the only one who's found the need to write something like this." commented mathiaspoint.
- Lalabadie and Multicomp provided examples of other CRM solutions, suggesting a growing market for such tools.
- danpalmer saw this as a key differentiator: "I don't want a personal CRM, I know everyone in my Beeper chats well enough that I don't need a sidebar to prompt me about where they live. Conversely, I need Signal and Facebook Messenger because that's where my loved ones are. However I can absolutely see that some people would want this. CRM for email is a solved problem and many professionals use CRM tools, but it doesn't exist in the same way for chat, and maybe it should (although email feels like the bigger market)."
Technical Website Issues and Accessibility
Beyond core functionality, users encountered technical glitches with the website itself, including loading problems and JavaScript/CSS rendering issues, which detract from the overall impression.
- kingnothing reported: "> Secure Connection Failed > An error occurred during a connection to useamber.app. PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR"
- devilkin also noted: "The site is also very flaky. Sometimes it loads, sometimes it doesn't."
- giancarlostoro speculated this might be due to the "HN front page effect."
- busymom0 described: "Something is weird about the javascript or CSS on the site. When I first scroll down, many things didn't animate and didn't show. When I scroll up and then scroll down again, then they animated in."
Open Source and Reproducible Builds
A desire for transparency and trust leads to calls for the project to be open source with signed reproducible builds. This is seen as a way to mitigate the privacy and security concerns raised by potential users.
- "This is super cool, but unfortunately has to be open source and with signed reproducible builds." stated ohcmon.
- swyx asked directly: "ok is there an "open source beeper" that has emerged that i can play with? cant use amber because closed source"
- tulir explained how Beeper's bridges are open source and allow for self-hosting with Matrix clients, suggesting a path for open-source alternatives.
Specific Feature Requests and Usability
Beyond the major themes, users also provided specific feedback on desired features and usability improvements.
- "Best of luck on your work, it does look solid!" offered andrewmcwatters.
- "if you can make the UI/UX of this better than messages, whatsapps, etc combined, then I'd be willing to pay money for it." said numbers, indicating the potential for a compelling user experience.
- "thedumbname: Light mode and Apple font please" was a simple UI preference, to which DmitryDolgopolo responded, "on the roadmap!"
- There were also questions about specific protocol implementations, like iMessage support: "How are you supporting iMessage? What method?" asked starik36.
In summary, while there is interest in a unified messaging solution with novel features like a personal CRM, significant hurdles remain for Amber. These include building trust through transparency (especially regarding AI and E2EE), expanding platform and service support, and ensuring a stable and polished user experience, both on the website and within the application itself.