Discussion on: Easiest Chat-as-a-Service

[Shawn Ng]

@Thierry

It takes me 5 seconds to see what SDKs are available here, it clearly states (React, iOS & Java): getstream.io/chat/docs/?language=js

And you can sell Stream better to me if you answer my questions directly. I think you missed out what I asked, I will paste them here:

• PWA (progressive web app)
• Frontend: Undecided, but keeping it as basic as possible

1. Security
   • Only the root user has access to unencrypted messages
   • Service provider shouldn't be able to read them
2. Data ownership
   • As a data-driven guy, I will like to own the data, and not the service provider
3. Ease of usage
   • Write feature-packed chat with as little code as possible
4. Ease of integration
   • SSO (Single Sign on); Able to authenticate and authorize users
5. Independent of programming framework / language
   • Since I might change my backend depending on needs

Perhaps you have the answers inside the documentation. But I would prefer short and direct answer here.

I am here for answers, not debates. Thanks!

[Thierry]

I do see how it can be confusing that we don't list our other SDKs there. That list only shows the frontend integrations. Here are all the SDKs: JS, Ruby, Python, Java, PHP, Go, PHP, .NET, Swift, Kotlin, Dart.

1. You can build e2e encrypted chat by combining Virgil (or your own encryption setup) with Stream. Note that this breaks the built-in AI moderation capabilities.
2. True for all major players in this space. Definitely Twilio, Stream, Sendbird. We don't do anything with your data
3. Ease of use depends on the frontend SDK you end up using. I recommend React
4. Both Sendbird and Stream support this. Stream also has a configurable permissions system so you can allow moderators to do more things than regular users.
5. Xamarin is supported only by Sendbird, Flutter by Stream. Everything else reasonably mainstream is supported by both.

[Shawn Ng]

@Thierry

Thanks for the response. I have corrected my original post.