Host Your Own Encrypted Group Video Chats with Jitsi Meet
Looking for a secure, open-source alternative to mainstream video conferencing tools? Jitsi Meet lets you host encrypted group calls without relying on third-party servers—ideal for privacy-conscious teams, developers, or anyone who wants full control over their video chats.
With 26K GitHub stars and counting, Jitsi Meet is battle-tested, scalable, and entirely self-hostable. No accounts, no tracking, just end-to-end encrypted meetings.
What It Does
Jitsi Meet is a WebRTC-based video conferencing platform that works right in your browser (or as a mobile app). Key features:
- End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for private calls
- Self-hosting—deploy on your own infrastructure
- No sign-ups—share a link and start a meeting instantly
- Embeddable—integrate video calls into your web app
- Scalable—supports large groups with adaptive streaming
Why It’s Cool
Unlike proprietary tools, Jitsi Meet is fully open-source (Apache 2.0 licensed) and modular. You can:
- Audit the code—no hidden tracking or backdoors.
- Customize it—modify the UI or add features via its React/React Native SDKs.
- Avoid vendor lock-in—host it yourself or use the public instance at jitsi.org/meet.
It also supports cool extras like live streaming, breakout rooms, and even a CLI tool for automating meetings.
How to Try It
- Quick test: Just head to jitsi.org/meet and start a call.
- Self-host: Follow the deployment docs (Docker, Kubernetes, or manual setup).
- Embed it: Use the iframe API to add video calls to your app.
Final Thoughts
Jitsi Meet is a rare combo of privacy, flexibility, and ease-of-use. If you’re tired of bloated conferencing tools or need a self-hosted solution for your team, it’s worth a spin. The community is active, and the codebase is surprisingly approachable for contributors.
Got a use case? Fork it, tweak it, or just enjoy ad-free meetings.