Like how private are they?
They are saved in plaintext in the database but cannot be accessed by mods or admins unless reported (or having database access). For private communication you should use something like Matrix.
Signal FTW!
closed platform, use matrix or something where you control the line.
I thought it was open source, no?
It depends. On facebook messenger? Not private at all. On signal? As private as it gets
Were you thinking about some service in particular?
Yeah, I mean on lemmy.
Not private - https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/18079
When it says that ‘the instance admin’ can read anything, remember that federation means anyone can be admin of their instance
Wait, we have DMs here on lemmy?