There is no shortage of video conferencing tools. Most of them are built for large organizations: accounts, calendars, recording, hundreds of participants. Briefing has a different goal. It is a video chat for small groups that runs in the browser, is always end-to-end encrypted and does not need to trust its server. A link is enough - no account, no installation, no tracking.
This page shows honestly where Briefing is stronger and where another tool is the better fit. Detailed comparisons:
At a glance
| Briefing | Jitsi Meet | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs in the browser, no installation | yes | yes | yes | yes (web app) | yes (web client, app recommended) |
| Account needed to start a call | no | yes on meet.jit.si (Google or GitHub account) | yes (Google account) | yes (Microsoft account) | yes (Zoom account) |
| End-to-end encryption | always, cannot be turned off | optional, per meeting | only in top Workspace plans (client-side encryption) | 1:1 calls; meetings only with Teams Premium, not in the browser | optional, not in the web client |
| Path of video and audio | directly between browsers | through a media server (videobridge) | through Google’s servers | through Microsoft’s servers | through Zoom’s servers |
| Does the server know the room name? | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Who decides who gets in? | the participants, by cryptography | server/moderator | server/organizer | server/organizer | server/host |
| Time limit on the free offering | none | none | 60 min with three or more people | 60 min for groups | 40 min per meeting |
| Self-hostable | yes, one Docker image | yes | no | no | no |
| Group size | small | large | large | very large | very large |
| Recording, captions, phone dial-in | no | partly | yes (depending on plan) | yes | yes |
As of October 2026. Information about other providers is based on their public documentation and may change.
What Briefing does differently
The server brokers, it is not trusted. With classic video services everything runs through a central server that can decrypt video and audio. Whether it does is a matter of trusting the provider. Briefing connects the participants directly and encrypts whatever still has to pass the server with a key that only the link knows. The details are in How Briefing works.
- No account, no app. A link is enough, for everyone - including the person who opens the room.
- Always end-to-end encrypted. There is no switch to forget and no feature you would have to give it up for.
- The server knows no room names. It only sees a room id that cannot be reversed.
- The participants decide who gets in, not the server.
- Safety codes show whether someone sits between you.
- The call survives the server. A restart or an outage does not interrupt a running call.
- Nothing is stored. Video, audio, chat, files and whiteboards exist only in the participants’ browsers.
- No time limit. Since video and audio do not pass through our servers, there is nothing we would have to limit.
- Made in Germany. The official instance runs exclusively in data centers in Germany. Or you run Briefing yourself.
When another tool is the better fit
Briefing does not try to do everything. If one of these matters most to you, another service is the better choice:
- Large meetings. Briefing connects everyone directly, so the upload grows with each person. Conferences with dozens or hundreds of participants are what media-server services are built for.
- Recording and transcription. Briefing deliberately records nothing.
- Phone dial-in, breakout rooms, webinars. Briefing does not have them.
- Calendar and office integration. If you already live in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you get meetings right in your calendar there.
Who Briefing is made for
- Confidential conversations: counseling, therapy, legal matters, journalism, works councils.
- Family and friends who do not want to install an app or create an account.
- Small teams that need to sync up quickly, share a screen or work on a whiteboard together.
- Organizations with their own server that want to run a video chat under their own control.
Try it: open a room, share the link, done. A guide is in the help.