I'm clearly weak on terminology. When you say Synapse instance, Sypnase is the server software that would then allow me to host an instance of Element/Matrix? And an instance would be running that software somewhere — namely, a device I own or a VPS?
Thank you. I think in my (ill-educated, poorly framed) original question, I think I was seeing if there were recommendations from the list on joinmatrix.org/servers/ I see that some are green-lit for privacy while others aren't.
This team isn't enterprise level or anything and I'm just looking to elevate them from emails to, originally, Slack. They're not sharing state secrets or anything, but are inconsistent about sharing client information that while not necessarily directly identifiable, should be kept under a tighter lid than it currently is.
Even if the messages are end to end encrypted I wouldn't trust a third party with that data (unless it was a company that does it for a living.)
I'd probably recommend running your own instance, I imagine for that few users it would be pretty cheap. Though maintenance is probably the biggest issue there.
Or just use a third party Matrix server but send client info over email using GPG keys. That would cost you nothing.
No, he means from a server. Either a VPS, a physical server you buy, or an old laptop in the corner that you keep always running (idk if that's enough for matrix, I want to host my own for about the same number of people but have yet to take the plunge. Also want to host myself a nextcloud instance, a jellyfin server, and motioneyeos. One day...)
I think this helps me clarify what I am asking: I want to set up an instance of Matrix/Element that is private (defederated?).
To do so, it has to live somewhere. And I gather that can be a public server like @domi linked to, or on a VPS (or physical server, but I don't want to go there).
Public server is what I originally had in mind: are there any that are better options than others in relation to security/privacy?
If I instead rent space on a VPS, (a) what's a decent one to consider and (b) do I then need to install something in addition to Element like Synapse, which someone else mentioned?