User manual

The IT and Media Center (ITMZ) provides students and employees of the University of Rostock with a messaging service. This service enables communication in groups or one-on-one.  
The chat service is based on Matrix, a free, open, secure, and decentralized protocol for real-time communication, accessible through the Element frontend. The chat service runs on university-owned servers.  
Due to the federated structure of the system, communication is possible both within the university and across institutions with Matrix users from other organizations.
 

The service supports sending files, images, and videos. Access is provided through a web interface.  
The recommended client for using the chat service is called Element and can be used on various systems and devices:  

Element Web: The University of Rostock’s browser-based web app   
Element Desktop: Download for Linux/Windows/Mac   Note: Please make sure to select the "Desktop" version.  
Element Mobile:  Android, FDroid, or iOS  

This is a complex chat software with a wide range of features. Please understand that this user guide only covers the basic functions.
 

Please carefully read the section “First steps”, in particular the part “Set up key backup”.

Inhalt

  1. First Steps
    1. Login
    2. Set up Key Backup
  2. Desktop & Mobile Clients
    1. Desktop Client
    2. Android Client
    3. iOS Client
  3. Verify Device
  4. Direct Chats and Rooms
    1. Direct Chat
    2. Create Room
    3. Find Room
    4. Delete & Leave Room
    5. Export Room
  5. Notifications
    1. Global Settings
    2. Notification Settings on Mobile Devices
    3. Room Notifications
  6. Encryption

First Steps

Login

The login to the University of Rostock’s chat server is done via the web browser at chatspace.uni-rostock.de using the university login credentials (username and associated password) through the Shibboleth/SAML connection.

Access the website > Select Login

Choose "Continue with SAML” 

Shibboleth login with username and password

Confirm data to be transmitted to the service

Confirm that the data may be used for the chat

You can begin

Set up key backup

Matrix not only encrypts the transport to and from the homeserver but also allows the use of end-to-end encryption. For this, cryptographic keys must be exchanged between all devices.
The numerous cryptographic keys are created by the client and stored on the respective device. If this happens in a web browser and it is accidentally closed, all encrypted content becomes unreadable.
To prevent this, a key backup on the University of Rostock's homeserver is recommended.
For secure and encrypted communication, a security key must be created in the Matrix session. After login, the system will prompt you at several points to verify your session and set up encryption.
 

You can click Continue directly in this quick info to go straight to the menu.

If you have skipped this message, you will be reminded one last time when logging out properly. If you do not set up the key backup at this point, your messages will be lost.

Alternatively, you can access the Recovery menu via the profile icon (top left) > All settings > Encryption. Select “Set up recovery” here.

You will then receive a brief message about this and confirm the generation of a recovery key by clicking Continue.

In the next step, the recovery key will be displayed to you. Please save it and keep it in a safe place (e.g., save as a .txt file AND print it).
Also, please copy it, as you will need it in the next step.
Never share this key with anyone, as another person could otherwise read your encrypted messages in plain text.

Now paste your personal security key into the text field for confirmation and complete the setup.

If you log in to the system with another device or web browser, you will be prompted to verify it.
Here you can either verify this session with an already verified device or with your secured recovery key.