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Matrix is the opposite of feature creep - there are several features entirely missing from major clients that users of modern chat apps expect to have.

(Examples include: custom emoji, functional search of encrypted chats, pinned messages or some sort of MOTD, forwarding messages, etc)

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The matrix developers are experienced IM developers. They've built systems on XMPP and custom protocols before. Their estimate was that because of matrix being federated, every feature was 5-10x harder to implement than in centralized systems.

As a protocol, Matrix has all of these features (custom emoji is a proposal, but many clients implement it).

As a client, Element has all of these (encrypted search only on Desktop for now) other than custom emoji.

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