# Conversations XMPP client 31 Hacker News commenters recommended Conversations XMPP client and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free Android XMPP chat app people call reliable and easy enough for family and WhatsApp-style use. Critics mainly say it lacks modern features and polish. ## Why people recommend it - Top Android client for XMPP (8 comments): "Conversations is a great Android client (also brings their own backend instance if you don't want to host your own)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46956648)) "Conversations on Android is significantly better than any Matrix client I've used" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47036442)) "gajim/conversations (which afaik are the best modern Windows/Android clients" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47039195)) - Reliable and stable day to day (7 comments): "Conversations automatically reconnects after each switch within few seconds, so it is transparent for users." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49698905)) "I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423842)) "I've not had any issues with my Samsung Android killing the Conversations client." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49445489)) - Easy enough for family and friends (5 comments): "a whatsapp-like experience with Conversations, that even the least tech-savvy in my circles use happily" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49144394)) "Me and my family also use it to communicate to each other with no issues regarding the UI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423670)) "it has been my go-to for years for communicating with friends and family" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49855671)) - Pairs well with self-hosted servers (5 comments): "Conversations is a great Android client (also brings their own backend instance if you don't want to host your own)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46956648)) "my ejabberd server + Conversations clients so that devices can send me status updates" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46648483)) "It will make on-boarding friends on my XMPP server easier." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831751)) ## What people warn about - Missing polish and modern features (4 comments): "unlike Conversations it has swipe to reply, last seen, emoji reactions etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46958291)) "Conversations is the best of them all, but it doesn't mean that it is good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49708261)) "I needed to fork Conversations to add a lot of polish." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49427148)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [WhatsApp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/whatsapp.md): 300 recommend - [iMessage](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imessage.md): 100 recommend - [Tether (iMessage and SMS on Linux)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tether.md): 22 recommend - [Google Messages](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-messages.md): 12 recommend - [OpenBubbles](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openbubbles.md): 5 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Conversations XMPP client", https://hackerapproved.com/p/conversations/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).