I have been hearing that matrix dendrite is no longer being worked on (at least unless people volunteer). I know that you cannot use element x which isn’t a big loss for me. I only plan to use it for family, friends, possibly friends and family of friends.
The big loss for me would be in the privacy category of things.
I have tried getting synapse to work but only managed to have it work with sqlite3 database. I don’t know how to get it to communicate properly with my postgres database for some reason. (I am using docker on ubuntu).
Next to Synapse and Dendrite, you could also try Counduit (or Conduwuit). I think that project has a future, maybe you want to evaluate it, too.
I’m not sure what you mean by miss out. You obviously can’t talk to people on other instances unless you talk to them (federate), but I think that’s it. I don’t know anything else you’d miss.
More so overall privacy and encryption features. That’s all I really care about. Will my encryption become less secure?
I will for sure check out conduit!