Comparison of instant messaging clients

Instant messaging was created in July 1996 by Yair Goldfinger, Arik Vardi, Sefi Vigiser, and Amnon Amir, when they started a company called Mirabilis in order to introduce a new way of communication over the Internet. [1] The current landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols so that internet users can communicate with multiple users at the same time. [2] The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. See the individual products' articles for further information. External links may lead to extensions that add a feature to a client.

General information

Client Publisher First public release Type Latest stable version License
Adium Adam Iser, Evan Schoenberg 2001-09 Multi-protocol 1.5.10.4 (April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27)) [±] GPLv2
aMSN The aMSN team 2002-05 Single-protocol 0.98.4 GPL
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) AOL 1997-05 Single-protocol 8.0.8.1 (April 6, 2015 (2015-04-06)) [±] Discontinued (was freeware)
Ayttm Colin Leroy and Philip Tellis 2003-04 Multi-protocol
  • Linux: 0.6.3 (10 Jul 2010)
  • Windows: 0.4.6-17
 GPL
Babelnet OKsystem a.s. 2013 Single-protocol
  • Android: 7.6.1 (11 July 2018)
  • iOS: 7.8.0 (6 August 2018)
  • Windows desktop: 5.8.1 (24 July 2018)
  • macOS: 3.7.0 (3 August 2018)
 Proprietary commercial software
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) BlackBerry Limited 2006 Single-protocol 10.5.5.38 (BlackBerry 10) (31 October 2014 (2014-10-31)) [±]

8.5.1.8 (BlackBerry) (3 August 2014 (2014-08-03)) [±]

2.5.0.36 (Android) (10 November 2014 (2014-11-10)) [±]

2.5.0.26 (iOS) (31 October 2014 (2014-10-31)) [±]

Freeware
BitlBee Wilmer van der Gaast 2002-08-09 Multi-protocol IRC gateway 3.5.1 (30 January 2017 (2017-01-30)) [±] GPL
Bombus Eugene Stahov 2005-01-05 Single-protocol v0.6 (2008) GPL
Centericq Konstantin Klyagin 1999 Multi-protocol 4.21.0 (September 2, 2005 (2005-09-02)) [±] GPL
Coccinella Mats Bengtsson 1999-12-01 Single-protocol 0.96.16 (December 1, 2009) GPLv3
Discord Discord Inc. 2015-03-06 Single-protocol 03.30.2017; (March 30, 2017) Freeware
eBuddy Paulo Taylor 2003-03-09 Multi-protocol 2011 Freeware
emesene Luis Mariano Guerra 2006-05-24 Multi-protocol 2.12.5 GPL
Empathy The GNOME Project 2007-05 Multi-protocol 3.12.12[3] (May 13, 2016 (2016-05-13)) [±] GPL
Facebook Messenger Facebook, Inc. 2011-08-09 Single-protocol Freeware
FaceTime Apple Inc. 2010-06-24 for iOS; 2011-02-24 for macOS: Single-protocol
  • iOS: 10.3.3 (stable), July 19, 2017
  • macOS: 4.0 (3080), July 24, 2017
 Part of macOS or iOS
Fire Eric Peyton 1999-04-01 Multi-protocol 1.5.6 (February 16, 2006) [±] GPL
Firetalk Multitude Communications 1997 -2001 voice/music chat program GPL
Flock Riva FZC September 2014 Single-protocol iOS: v2.28.5, Android: v4.5, OS X: v2.2.144, Windows: v2.2.x, Web: v2.2.x Freemium
Gadu-Gadu Łukasz Foltyn / GG Network S.A. 2000-08-15 Single-protocol
  • Modern UI: 2.0.0.179
  • Desktop: 12.0.49.11103 (December 13, 2013)
 Freeware
Gajim Yann Le Boulanger 2004-05-21 Single-protocol 1.0.3 (May 19, 2018 (2018-05-19)[4]) [±] GPL
Google Allo Google, Inc. 2016-09-21 Single-protocol
Android 26.0.058_RC05 / January 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)[5]
iOS 26.0 / January 23, 2018 (2018-01-23)[6]
 Freeware
Google Hangouts Google, Inc. 2013-05-15 Single-protocol Freeware
Hookt Hookt, Inc. 2011-09-14 Single-protocol Freeware
Hike Bharti SoftBank 2012-12-12 Single-protocol
  • 3.2.0 (Android, August 12, 2014 (2014-08-12))[7]
  • 2.6.2.0 (Windows Phone, July 23, 2014 (2014-07-23))[8]
  • 2.6.2 (BlackBerry, May 7, 2014 (2014-05-07))[9]
  • 2.6.0 (iOS, August 12, 2014 (2014-08-12))[10]
  • 2.6.0 (Symbian)
 Freeware
IBM Lotus Sametime IBM, Ubique 1998 Multi-protocol — proprietary T.120, SIP, XMPP 9.0.0 (September 20, 2013) Proprietary commercial software
iChat Apple Inc. 2002-08 Multi-protocol 6.0.1 (1002) (February 1, 2012), replaced by Messages Part of macOS
ICQ Mail.Ru 1996-11 Single-protocol 8.0.5977 (January 14, 2016) Apache license
IMVU Will Harvey 2001-07 Multiple-protocol 3.0 Freemium
Instantbird Florian Quèze 2007 Multi-protocol 1.5 (December 17, 2013 (2013-12-17)) [±] GPLv2
Jitsi Emil Ivov 2003 Multi-protocol 2.10 (build.5550) (February 5, 2017 (2017-02-05)) [±] LGPL
Kadu Kadu Team 2001-08 Multi-protocol 4.1 (December 2, 2016) GPLv2
KakaoTalk Kakao Corp. 2010-03-18 single-protocol
  • iOS: 5+
  • Android: 4+
  • Windows Phone: 2+
  • BlackBerry: 3+
  • Windows 8
 Freeware
Kik Messenger Kik Interactive 2010-10 Signle-protocol 6.2 Freeware
Kopete Kopete Team 2002-03-03 Multi-protocol 1.7.2 (October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)) [±][11] GPL
Libon Orange S.A. 2012-11-21 Freemium
Line LINE Corporation 2011 Single-protocol
  • iOS: 3.8.2
  • Android: 3.8.5
  • Windows Phone: 2.6.0.137
  • BlackBerry: 1.8.23
  • Windows: 5.8.1706
 Freemium
MCabber Mikael Berthe 2005-06-07 Single-protocol 1.1.0 (June 4, 2017 (2017-06-04)) [±] GPL
Meetro Paul Bragiel & Samuel Stauffer 2005 Multi-protocol
  • Windows: 0.96 beta
  • OS X: 0.53 beta
 Discontinued
Messages Apple Inc. 2012-07-25 Multi-protocol 8.1.3 (January 27, 2015) Part of macOS and iOS
Skype for Business Microsoft 2005 Single-protocol 2013 (October 2, 2012) Trialware
Miranda IM Miranda IM project 2000-02-06 Multi-protocol 0.10.80[12] (25 April 2018 (2018-04-25)) [±] GPL
Mysms sms.at mobile internet services gmbh 2011 Single-protocol ? Freemium
MySpaceIM MySpace 2006-05-09 Single-protocol 1.0.754.0 (February 7, 2008) Freeware
naim Daniel Reed 1998-10-05 Multi-protocol 0.11.8.3.1 (July 9, 2007) GPL
Nimbuzz Evert Jaap Lugt 2006 Multi-protocol Android: 7.0.1
(5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)) [±][13]

iOS: 5.11.0
(1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)) [±][14]

BlackBerry OS: 4.0
(10 December 2013 (2013-12-10)) [±][15]

Windows Phone: 1.1.8.1
(16 April 2014 (2014-04-16)) [±][16]

 Freeware
Palringo Palringo Ltd 2006 Single-protocol
  • Windows: 2.7.9 (July 4, 2012)
  • Windows Mobile: 2.6.6 (March 30, 2012)
  • iOS: 4.12 (August 6, 2012)
  • Android: 5.2.8 (August 1, 2012)
  • OS X: 4.6.4 (July 24, 2012)
  • Windows Phone: 0.11.0.0 (February 14, 2012)
 Freemium
Paltalk 1998-06 Multi-protocol Version 10.2 Build 455 Freeware
Pidgin Mark Spencer 1998-11 Multi-protocol 2.13.0 (March 8, 2018 (2018-03-08)[17]) [±] GPL
Psi Psi and Psi+ developers 2001 Single-protocol 1.3 (September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)) [±] GPL
Quiet Internet Pager (QIP) Ilgam Zyulkorneev 2004 Multi-protocol QIP 2012 version 4.0 (build 8866) (27 November 2012 (2012-11-27)) [±] Freeware
QuteCom QuteCom 2004 Multi-protocol 2.2.1 (22 June 2011 (2011-06-22)[18]) [±] GPL
Ricochet Invisible.im 2014-06 Single-protocol 1.1.4 (November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08)[19]) [±] BSD
Ring Savoir-faire Linux Inc. 2014 Single-protocol 20180509 GPLv3
RingID Ring Inc. 2015 Multi-protocol
  • 4.1.4 (Android, March 16, 2016 (2016-03-16))[20]
  • 4.1.1.4 (Windows Phone, March 9, 2016 (2016-03-09))[21]
  • 4.2.2 (iOS, March 19, 2016 (2016-03-19))[22]
 Freeware
Sicher SHAPE GmbH 2014-06 Single-protocol 1.1 Freeware
Signal Open Whisper Systems 2014-07 Single-protocol Android 4.26.2 (September 26, 2018 (2018-09-26)[23]) [±]

iOS 2.29.3 (September 18, 2018 (2018-09-18)[24]) [±]
Desktop 1.16.2 (September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)[25]) [±]

 GPLv3
Skype Skype Technologies, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation 2003 Single-protocol
Windows, UWP 12.1815.209.0 / 21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)[26]
Windows, desktop 8.32.0.53 / 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)[27]
macOS 8.32.0.53 / 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)[27]
Linux 8.32.0.53 / 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)[27]
Android 6 and later 8.32.0.53 / 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)[28]
iOS & watchOS 8.32.0.53 / 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)[28]
 Freemium adware
Spark (XMPP client) Ignite Realtime 2006-09 Single-protocol 2.7.7 (April 24, 2016 (2016-04-24)) [±] Apache License
Surespot Surespot LLC 2013 Single-protocol iOS 11 (September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)[29]) [±]

Android 63 (October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09)[30]) [±]

 GPLv3
Telegram Telegram Messenger LLP 2013 Single-protocol
Android, Original 4.9.1 / 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)[31]
Android, Telegram X 0.20.10.967 / 27 July 2018 (2018-07-27)[32]
iOS, Original 5.0.10 / 11 October 2018 (2018-10-11)[33]
iOS, Telegram X 5.0.8 / 19 September 2018 (2018-09-19)[34]
Windows Phone 3.3.0 / 7 September 2018 (2018-09-07)[35]
Windows, macOS, Linux 1.4.3 / 10 October 2018 (2018-10-10)[36]
macOS (Mac App Store version) 4.4.1 / 1 October 2018 (2018-10-01)[37]
 GPLv2, GPLv3[38]
Tencent QQ Tencent Holdings 1999-02 Single-protocol See current releases Adware
TextSecure Open Whisper Systems 2010-05 Single-protocol Discontinued (merged with RedPhone to become Signal) GPLv3
Threema Threema GmbH 2012-12 Single-protocol iOS
3.0.8 (March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)) [±] [39]

Android
3.41 (March 13, 2018 (2018-03-13)) [±] [40]

Windows Phone
2.3.0 (May 14, 2018 (2018-05-14)) [±] [41]

 Proprietary commercial software
Tkabber Alexey Shchepin 2002-07-03 Single-protocol 1.1.2 (May 10, 2015) GPL
Tox Tox Foundation 2013 Single-protocol GPLv3
Trillian Cerulean Studios 2000-07-01 Multi-protocol Windows:

6.1 (build 16) (May 31, 2018 (2018-05-31)) [±]

Mac OS X:
6.1 (October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)) [±]

Linux:
6.1 (build 5) (February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)) [±]

Android:
6.1.0.15 (May 30, 2018 (2018-05-30)) [±]

iOS:
6.1.3 (March 26, 2018 (2018-03-26)) [±]

BlackBerry:
1.1.0.45 (October 25, 2011 (2011-10-25)) [±]

Web-Based:
6.1.0.7 (June 26, 2018 (2018-06-26)) [±]

Server:
6.0 (build 14) (September 5, 2017 (2017-09-05)) [±]

 Freemium adware
Tuenti Tuenti 2006 Multi-protocol Proprietary
Upptalk Upptalk 2010 Dual-protocol iOS 2.4 (November 26, 2014 (2014-11-26)[42]) [±]

Android 2.0.2 (February 12, 2014 (2014-02-12)) [±]
Windows Phone 7.x 1.0.1.7 (September 12, 2013 (2013-09-12)) [±]
Windows Phone 8.x 1.0.0.4 (September 18, 2013 (2013-09-18)) [±]
BlackBerry OS 1.0.1 (May 31, 2013 (2013-05-31)) [±]
Kindle Fire 2.0 (December 19, 2013 (2013-12-19)[43]) [±]

 Freeware
Viber Talmon Marco, Igor Magazinnik, Sani Maroli and Ofer Smocha 2010-12-02 Single-protocol
  • Android:
    9.5.0.6 (August 21, 2018 (2018-08-21)[44]) [±]
  • iOS:
    8.7.1 (April 21, 2018 (2018-04-21)[45]) [±]
  • Windows Mobile:
    6.6.1 (April 26, 2018 (2018-04-26)[46]) [±]
  • BlackBerry 10 OS:
    4.3.0.728 (April 23, 2014 (2014-04-23)[47]) [±]
 Freemium
WeChat Tencent Holdings 2011-01 Single-protocol
iOS 6.7.2 / August 10, 2018 (2018-08-10)[48][49]
macOS 2.3.13 / May 3, 2018 (2018-05-03)[50]
Android 6.7.3 / October 10, 2018 (2018-10-10)[51]
Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8 6.0.8[52]
Symbian V3 4.2 / February 4, 2013 (2013-02-04)[53]
Symbian V5 4.2 / January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)[54]


 Freeware
WhatsApp Facebook, Inc. 2009-08 Single-protocol
iOS 2.18.81 / August 5, 2018 (2018-08-05)[55]
Android 2.18.300 / October 2, 2018 (2018-10-02)[56]
Windows Phone 8, Windows 10 Mobile 2.18.52[57]
Symbian 2.16.57[58]
BlackBerry 2.17.2 / June 26, 2016 (2016-06-26)[59]
 Freeware
Wickr Wickr Inc. 2012-06 Single-protocol
  • Android:
    2.6.3 (March 1, 2016 (2016-03-01)) [±]
  • iOS:
    2.6.3 (March 1, 2016 (2016-03-01)) [±]
  • Windows:
    2.6.0 [±]
  • Mac OS X:
    2.6.0 [±]
  • Linux:
    2.6.0 [±]
 Trialware
Windows Live Messenger Microsoft 1999-07 Dual-protocol 2012 (v16.4.3508.205) (April 8, 2013 (2013-04-08)) [±] Discontinued (was freeware)
Wire Wire Swiss GmbH 2014-12-03 Single-protocol
  • iOS: 2.2
  • Android: 2.3
  • OS X: 2.5
  • Windows: 2.6ch
  • Web: 2016-04-08
 GPLv3
Xabber Redsolution Inc. 2011 Single-protocol GPLv3
Xfire Xfire Inc. 2004 Dual-protocol 1.155 (March 20, 2013 (2013-03-20)) [±] Discontinued (was freeware)
Yahoo! Messenger Yahoo! 1999-06-21 Dual-protocol
  • Windows: 11.5.0.228
  • OS X: 3.0.2
  • Unix: 1.0.4
 Discontinued (was freeware)
Zephyr Project Athena 1987 Single-protocol 2.0 MIT
Client Publisher First public release Type Latest stable version License

Operating system support

The operating systems the clients can run on without emulation or compatibility layers.

Client Desktop Mobile Other
Windows macOS Unix-like Haiku Amiga Windows Phone Android BlackBerry OS iOS Symbian MeeGo Java ME WebOS Web VGCs
Adium NoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
BBM NoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
AIM YesYesDroppedNoNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoYesNoNo
aMSN YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Ayttm YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Babelnet YesYesNoNoNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
BitlBee YesYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Bombus NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNo
Centericq YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
climm YesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Coccinella YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Discord YesYesPartial[lower-alpha 1]NoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
eBuddy NoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYesNo
emesene YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Empathy NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Facebook Messenger YesNoNoNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
FaceTime NoIncludedNoNoNoNoNoNoIncludedNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flock YesYesNoNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Fire YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Gadu-Gadu YesNoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesYesNoYesNoYesNo
Gajim YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Google Hangouts Partial[lower-alpha 2]Partial[lower-alpha 2]Partial[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 1]NoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Hookt YesYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYesNo
Hike NoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNo
IBM Lotus Sametime YesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
ICQ YesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoYesNo
IMVU YesYesNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Instantbird YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Jitsi YesYesYesNoNoNoUnstableUnstableNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
KakaoTalk YesYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Kadu YesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Kik NoNoNoNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Kopete Yes[lower-alpha 3][61]YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Line YesYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Messages NoIncludedNoNoNoNoNoNoIncludedNoNoNoNoNoNo
MCabber NoYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Skype for Business YesYesNoNoNoYesYesNoYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Miranda IM YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
MySpaceIM YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
naim YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Nimbuzz YesYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesNo
Palringo YesYesNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Paltalk YesNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Pidgin YesYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Psi YesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
QIP YesNoNoNoNoYesNoNoYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
QuteCom YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Ring YesYesYesNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
RingID Yes[62]NoNoNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoYesYesNo
Signal Yes[63]Yes[63]Partial[lower-alpha 4][64]NoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoDropped[64]No
Snapchat NoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Surespot NoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Skype YesYesPartial[lower-alpha 1]NoNoYesYesYesYesNoYesNoNoYesPSP PSV XB1
SOMA NoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Spark (XMPP client) YesYes[lower-alpha 5]YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Telegram (standard messages) YesYesYesNoNoYesYesNo[65]YesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Telegram (secret chats) YesYes/No[lower-alpha 6]Yes/No[lower-alpha 7]NoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Tencent QQ YesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNo
Threema NoNoNoNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Tkabber YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Tox YesYesYesNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Trillian YesYesPartial[lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 1]NoNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Tuenti NoNoNoNoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Viber YesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
WeChat YesYes[66]NoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoYesNo
WhatsApp 8+[67]Yes[67]NoNoNo8.1+[68]YesTo be discontinued in 2017[69]YesTo be discontinued in 2017[69]NoNoNoYesNo
Wickr YesYesYesNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Windows Live Messenger YesYesNoNoNoYesNoYesYesYesNoNoNoYesXbox
Wire YesYesYesNoNoNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Xabber NoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Xfire YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Yahoo! Messenger YesYesNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoYesNo
Yuilop NoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Zephyr YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Client Windows OS X Unix-like Haiku Amiga Windows Phone Android BlackBerry OS iOS Symbian MeeGo Java ME WebOS Web VGCs
Desktop Mobile Other
  1. 1 2 3 4 The only supported desktop Unix-like platform is Linux.
  2. 1 2 3 Only available as Google Chrome/Chromium plugin. No native application available.
  3. ↑ May not be the final version suitable for everyday use.
  4. ↑ The only supported desktop Unix-like platforms are Debian-based Linux distributions.
  5. ↑ Runs under Java, no native installer for latest version
  6. ↑ Secret chats supported only in native application Telegram. Cross-platform application Telegram Desktop does not support them.
  7. ↑ Secret chats supported only in the third-party applications Cutegram and Telegram CLI. Cross-platform application Telegram Desktop does not support them.
  8. ↑ Currently in beta testing.

Protocol support

Client Y!M AIM/ICQ[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] XMPP[lower-alpha 4] IRC IBM Lotus Sametime Novell GroupWise Messenger Gadu-Gadu QQ Skype[lower-alpha 1] MySpaceIM SIP Others
Adium YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesPartial[lower-alpha 5]YesNoMobileMe, NateOn, Steam IM, Telegram, Tox, Zephyr
AIM NoYes[lower-alpha 6]NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Ayttm YesPartialYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Babelnet NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes
BitlBee YesYesYesN/A[lower-alpha 7]Depends[lower-alpha 8]NoDepends[lower-alpha 8]
Centericq YesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNo
climm NoYes[lower-alpha 9]PartialNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
eBuddy YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNo
emesene NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Empathy Depends[lower-alpha 8] YesYes Depends[lower-alpha 8] Yes Depends[lower-alpha 8]
Fire YesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Ichat Yesyes/no[70]YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoBonjour
IMVU YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoIMVU
Instantbird YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesNetsoul
Jitsi NoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesippi, iptel.org, google talk
Kadu NoNoYesNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNo
KDE Telepathy YesYesYesNoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoTelegram
Kopete YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesPartial[lower-alpha 5]NoNoSILC, WinPopup
Messages YesYes[lower-alpha 6]YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoMobileMe
Miranda IM YesYesYesYesYesNoYesYes[lower-alpha 10]YesYesNo?
naim NoYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoLily
Nimbuzz YesNoYes??????NoYesTwitter, Facebook chat, Google Talk
Palringo YesYesYesNoNoNoYesNo??No?
Paltalk YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo??No?
Pidgin Plug-inYes[lower-alpha 11]YesYesYesYesYesPlug-inPlug-inPlug-inPlug-in[71]Bonjour, Facebook plugin, SIMPLE, Zephyr
QIP NoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoYesNoMRA, XIMSS
QuteCom YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNo
Ring NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesRing
Spark (XMPP client) NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes[lower-alpha 10]No
Tencent QQ NoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Tkabber NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Trillian No[72]YesYesYes[lower-alpha 12]NoYes[lower-alpha 12]Yes[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 12]Yes[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 12]No[73][lower-alpha 12]YesNoLinkedIn,[lower-alpha 12] Foursquare,[lower-alpha 12] ASTRA, VZ[lower-alpha 12]
Yahoo! Messenger Partial[lower-alpha 13]YesNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Upptalk NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Xabber NoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Y!M AIM/ICQ XMPP IRC IBM Lotus Sametime Novell GroupWise Messenger Gadu-Gadu QQ Skype MySpaceIM SIP Others
  1. 1 2 Supports messaging to a phone number (text messaging service).
  2. ↑ AOL is ending AIM access to cryptographically insecure MD5 authentication.
  3. ↑ AIM was discontinued December 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ Commonly termed Jabber, used in Facebook, LiveJournal, Tweeter, Identi.ca, etc.
  5. 1 2 Needs running official Skype client.
  6. 1 2 Via AIM account only.
  7. ↑ Bitlbee is accessed via IRC.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Supported via Pidgin back-end, depends on its version
  9. ↑ Via ICQ account only.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Available as plugin.
  11. ↑ Requires Pidgin 2.12
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Not supported in versions for Android (checked 12 November 2012 in latest version 1.2.0.11)
  13. ↑ Via Yahoo! Messenger account only.
Client Transports[lower-alpha 1] File transfer
(XEP-0096)[lower-alpha 2]		 Multi-user
chat
(XEP-0045)		 Link-local
(XEP-0174)		 Jingle
(XEP-0166)
File transfer[lower-alpha 2] Voice calls
 Video calls
Adium YesYesYesYesNoNoNo
Babelnet YesYesYesNoNoNoNo
BitlBee YesYesYesYesNoNoNo
Bombus[74] NoYesYesNoNoNoNo
climm NoYesNoNoNoNoNo
Coccinella[75] YesYesYesNoNoYesNo
Conversations NoNoYesNoYesNoNo
Telepathy-based[lower-alpha 3][76] NoYesYesYesYesYesYes
Gajim[77] YesYesYesYesYesYesExcept Windows
Jitsi NoYesYesYesNoYesYes
Kadu NoYesNoNoNoNoNo
Kopete YesYesYesYesNoNoNo
Messages NoYesOnly join[lower-alpha 4]YesYesNoNo
MCabber[78] NoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Miranda IM YesYesYesNoNoNoNo
Nimbuzz YesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Pidgin[79] YesYesYesYesPartial[80]Except Windows[lower-alpha 5]Except Windows[lower-alpha 5]
Psi YesYesYesYesNoPlug-inPlug-in
Spark (XMPP client) YesYesYes?YesPlug-inPlug-in
Tkabber[81] YesYesYesNoNoNoNo
Trillian NoYesOnly Windows[lower-alpha 6]Only Windows[lower-alpha 6]NoNoNo
  1. ↑ Transport support means the ability to set up transports. Once transport is set up, any client can use it to manage contacts and communicate with them.
  2. 1 2 The difference between XEP-0096 (legacy) and XEP-0234 (Jingle) file transfer is that the latter works behind NAT (e.g., from home and corporate networks).
  3. ↑ Both Empathy and KDE Telepathy are based on Telepathy framework and share same properties in regard of XMPP features support.
  4. ↑ Multi-user chats can be joined but not started
  5. 1 2 Feature unavailable on Windows.
  6. 1 2 Feature available on Windows only.

Features

Information on what features each of clients support.

Client Toolkits or SDKs File transfer Editing sent messages Proxy server Graphical emoticons Unicode (UTF-8) Built-in games Themes, skins Plugin system Third party add-ons Scripting Message logging Voice messaging Voice mail Webcam Offline Cloud backup Remote desktop assistance Whiteboard RTL texting
Adium Cocoa Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes ? ?
AIM W32/Cocoa Yes ? Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] Yes Yes No Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] No Yes Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] No Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] No No
aMSN Tcl/Tk Yes ? http, socks5, msn gateway Yes Yes Partial Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Ayttm GTK2 No ? http, socks4/5 Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No No Partial Partial No No
Babelnet ? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No Partial Yes No
BitlBee N/A Yes ? Yes No Yes No N/A Yes No No N/A ? ? No Yes ? ?
Bombus Java ME Yes ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No ?
Centericq ncurses Partial ? ? No ? No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No Yes ? ?
climm line based Yes ? ? N/A Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes N/A N/A N/A Yes No ?
Coccinella Tcl/Tk Yes ? http, socks4/5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes ?
Discord Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes TTS Yes Partial No No No Plug-in[82]
eBuddy No Partial ? ? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No ?
Empathy GTK3 Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes ? ? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Facebook Messenger ? Yes No ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Fire Cocoa Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gadu-Gadu Qt Yes ? ? Yes Yes No ? No Yes No Yes Yes ? ? Yes No ?
Gajim GTK2 Yes ? http Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes
Google Talk W32 Yes No ? Partial Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Third party plugin Yes No Yes
IBM Lotus Sametime Yes Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes available Yes Yes Yes ?
ICQ W32 Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
IMVU ? No ? ? Yes Yes Partial Yes No Partial[lower-alpha 2] No Yes No ? No Yes ? ?
Jitsi Java Yes ? Yes Yes Yes No ? Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ?
Kadu Qt Yes ? Yes Yes Yes No Partial Yes Yes Partial Yes Yes No No Yes No ?
Kopete Qt/KDE Yes ? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes With plugin Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Line Line SDK ? No ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ?
Messages Cocoa Yes ? ? Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Partial[lower-alpha 3] ?
MCabber Curses No ? ? No Yes No ? ? No ? Yes No No No Yes No ?
Miranda IM W32 Yes ? Yes, socks4/5, http(s) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial[lower-alpha 3] No Partial[lower-alpha 3] Yes Yes Yes
Palringo ? No ? ? Yes ? No Yes No No No No Yes No Partial (picture capture only) ? No ?
Paltalk N/A Yes ? ? Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No ?
Pidgin GTK2 Partial No Yes, http, socks4/5 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (XMPP in Linux) No Yes (XMPP in Linux) Yes Partial Yes
Psi Qt Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Partial (Linux & Unix) No Partial (Linux & Unix) Yes Yes Yes
QIP W32, VCL Yes ? Yes, http(s), socks4/4A/5 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No ?
QuteCom Qt Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes No No ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
Ring ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Skype Qt/KDE, W32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes/No[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 1] Yes
Surespot ? Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes ? ?
Tencent QQ W32 Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ?
Telegram Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes Only un-encrypted messages Yes Yes
Tkabber Tcl/Tk Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No
Tox Many [lower-alpha 4] Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Up to clients [lower-alpha 4] Up to clients [lower-alpha 4] Up to clients [lower-alpha 4] Up to clients [lower-alpha 4] Up to clients [lower-alpha 4] Yes Yes No Yes Partial [83] No Yes
Trillian W32, Cocoa Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes
WhatsApp No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes No Yes
Wickr No Yes ? Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No ?
Windows Live Messenger W32 Yes ? Yes, http, socks4/5, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Wire No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No[84] No Yes
Xfire W32 Yes ? ? No Yes No Yes Partial Yes No Yes Yes No No No No ?
Yahoo! Messenger W32, Cocoa, GTK Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes
Yuilop ? Yes ? No Yes ? No No No No ? Yes Yes No No Yes Partial ?
Client Toolkits or SDKs File transfer Editing sent messages Proxy server Graphical emoticons Unicode (UTF-8) Built-in games Themes, skins Plugin system Third party add-ons Scripting Message logging Voice messaging Voice mail Webcam support Offline messaging Cloud backup Remote desktop assistance Whiteboard RTL texting
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Feature only supported on Windows
  2. ↑ While IMVU does not allow add-ons to extend the client, registered accounts can create new content for use inside the simulation.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Supported with plugin
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tox is a communications protocol and a library implementing that protocol. Applications can bring features of their own.
Client Handwriting mode Dockable Multiaccount Spell check User-defined graphic emoticons Animations OAuth
Adium Yes, receive only Yes Yes Yes Partial Partial ?
AIM No Yes No No ? Partial ?
aMSN Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Ayttm No No Yes Yes Yes No ?
Babelnet No Partial Yes No No No No
BitlBee No N/A Yes ? ? ? ?
Centericq ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
climm N/A ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Coccinella ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? ?
Discord No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Empathy No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Facebook Messenger No Yes No No ? ? ?
Fire ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gajim ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Google Talk Yes/No[lower-alpha 1] Yes Yes/No[lower-alpha 2] No No Yes/No[lower-alpha 2] No
iChat No ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
ICQ No Yes No Yes No Yes, tZer ?
IMVU ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Jitsi No No Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Kadu No Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes, emoticons No
Kopete No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, emoticons No
Miranda IM No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
MySpaceIM ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
naim No ? ? ? ? ? ?
Paltalk ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pidgin No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, emoticons, user icons ?
Psi No ? Yes Yes Yes Yes/No[lower-alpha 3] ?
QIP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, emoticons ?
QuteCom ? ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Ring ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Signal ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Snapchat ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Skype No No No No ? Yes, animated emoticons ?
Telegram (standard messages) ? ? ? No ? ? ?
Telegram (secret chats) ? ? ? No ? ? ?
Tencent QQ No Yes Yes No Yes Yes ?
Tkabber No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, animated emoticons No
Trillian Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes, animated emoticons ?
WhatsApp No ? No No No No No
Windows Live Messenger Yes No Yes No Yes Yes, animated emoticons, winks ?
Wire Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No, uses encrypted protocol
Yahoo! Messenger ? ? ? No ? ? ?
Client Handwriting mode Dockable Multiaccount Spell check User-defined graphic emoticons Animations OAuth for client authorization
  1. ↑ The connection between the Google Talk client and the Google Talk server is encrypted, except when using Gmail's chat over HTTP, a federated network that doesn't support encryption, or when using a proxy like IMLogic. - Google
  2. 1 2 Feature unavailable in standalone version.
  3. ↑ Depends on build configuration options.

Secure messengers

Messengers with client-to-client encryption

The following table is an overview of instant messaging clients that provide end-to-end encryption. Some of the listed client applications do not provide end-to-end encryption by default. These clients may require that users install a separate plugin, turn on a setting, or use an optional mode. In these cases, the encryption-related information in this table is only applicable when the encryption is enabled.

Client name Encrypted by default Development status Open source client[lower-alpha 1] Decentralized[lower-alpha 2] Servers Contact verification[lower-alpha 3] Encryption ciphers Forward secrecy[lower-alpha 4] Multiple encryption[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] Encrypted groupchat[lower-alpha 7] Encrypted file transfer[lower-alpha 7] Public key and IP unrelated[lower-alpha 8] Proxy /Tor[lower-alpha 9] Transport[lower-alpha 10] Asynchronous encryp. communication[lower-alpha 11] Encrypted client data[lower-alpha 12] Screenshot protection[lower-alpha 13] Self-destructing messages[lower-alpha 13]
Open source Distributed Federated Data Symmetric[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 14] Asymmetric[lower-alpha 15] Asym. key size[lower-alpha 16] TCP UDP SCTP
Profile information[lower-alpha 17] Chat metadata[lower-alpha 18] Contact lists[lower-alpha 19] Cloud backup McEliece RSA DSA ECC NTRU El Gamal Default Max.
Babelnet Yes Active No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ? RSA-3447 ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Depends Yes
Briar Yes Active, public beta Yes Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ECC-256 ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ? ? No Yes Yes No
ChatSecure allows unencrypted Active Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes[85] Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] Optional ? ? ? Optional ? ? ? No ? ? No
Conversations allows unencrypted Active Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Stored; not client-side encrypted[86] Stored[86] No Yes Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Depends Optional Optional Yes Optional Optional ? ? ? Optional ? ? No
Cryptocat Yes Active Yes No ? ? No No Yes[87] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[87] Yes[87] No groupchat Yes[87] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
FireChat[88] allows unencrypted[lower-alpha 21] Active No Yes N/A N/A N/A No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Includes groupchat, but it is not encrypted ? ? No ? ? ? Yes ? ? No
iMessage[89] allows unencrypted[lower-alpha 22] Active No[89] No No ? No Optional No[85] ? ? Yes[90] ? ? ? ? ? ? No[89] ? Depends[91] Yes[92] ? No ? ? ? Yes ? No No
Line[93][94] Yes Active No No No Yes[95] No Stored; not client-side encrypted[95] Stored[95] Optional No ? ? ? ? Yes[96] ? ? ECC-256[96] N/A No ? Yes[94] ? ? No ? ? ? Yes No No No
RetroShare Yes Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes N/A N/A N/A No Yes[85] Yes ? Yes ? ? No No ? ? Yes[85] Yes Yes Yes Optional Optional Yes Yes No Yes Yes ? ?
Ring Yes[97] Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes Stored[98] No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Ricochet Yes Active Yes Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No No[99] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[99] No[99] No groupchat No Yes Yes ? ? ? No No[99] No No
Sicher Yes Active No[lower-alpha 23] No No ? No ? Yes ? Yes ? ? No No RSA-2048[100] N/A No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No ? Yes ? Yes
Signal Yes[lower-alpha 24] Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] No Yes Yes[101] No[102] Stored; client-side encrypted[103] Not stored[104] Not stored[104][105] No Yes[85] Yes ? ? No Yes No No ECC-256[106] N/A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[107] Yes[107] No Yes Yes[lower-alpha 25] Yes Yes
Silent Phone Yes Active Viewable source[108] No No No No Stored[109] Not stored Not stored ? Yes[85] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[85] Yes[110] Yes[111] Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Surespot Yes Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] No No ? No Stored; client-side encrypted[112] Stored[112] Stored[112] No Yes[85] Yes ? No ? Yes[113] No No ECC-521[113] N/A Yes No No groupchat No No ? Yes No No ? ? ? No
Threema Yes Active Partially[lower-alpha 26][114] No No ? No Stored; client-side encrypted[115] Not stored[115] Not stored[115] Optional Yes[85] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No[lower-alpha 27] ? Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? Yes Yes ? No
Tox Yes Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? No No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Viber allows unencrypted[lower-alpha 28][116] Active No No No ? No Stored; not client-side encrypted[117] Stored[117] Stored[117] Optional Yes[118] ? ? ? ? Yes[118] ? ? ECC-256[118] N/A Yes[118] ? Depends[118][119] Yes[118] ? No ? ? ? Yes[118] ? No No
WhatsApp Yes Active Partially[lower-alpha 26][120] No No Yes No Stored; not client-side encrypted[121] Stored[121] Stored[121] Optional Yes[120] Yes[120] ? ? ? Yes[120] ? ? ECC-256[120] N/A Yes[120] Yes[120] Yes[120] Yes[120] Yes[120] No ? ? ? Yes[120] No No No
Wickr Me Yes Active Partially[lower-alpha 26][122] No No ? No Stored; not client-side encrypted[123] Not stored[124] Not stored[124] Yes[125] ? ? ? ? Yes[125] No No ECC-521[125] N/A Yes[125] Yes[125] Yes ? ? No Yes ? ? Yes Yes[125] Capture notification[126] Yes
Wickr Pro Yes Active Partially[lower-alpha 26][127] No No ? No Stored; not client-side encrypted[123] Not stored[124] Not stored[124] Yes[125] ? ? ? ? Yes[125] No No ECC-521[125] N/A Yes[125] Yes[125] Yes ? ? No Yes ? ? Yes Yes[125] ? Yes
Wire Yes Active Yes[128] No Yes[129] ? No[129] Stored; not client-side encrypted[130] Stored[130] Stored[130] No Yes[131] Yes[132] ? ? ? Yes[132] ? ? ECC-256[132] N/A Yes Yes Yes Yes[133] ? No Yes[132] Yes[132] ? Yes Yes No Yes[134]
TextSecure Yes Discontinued[lower-alpha 29] Yes[lower-alpha 23][135] Partially[lower-alpha 30] Yes[lower-alpha 30] Yes Yes, briefly[lower-alpha 30] N/A Not stored Not stored No Yes[85] Yes ? ? No Yes No No ECC-256[106] N/A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes[136] Yes Yes No
WASTE Yes Discontinued Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes N/A N/A N/A No Yes ? ? ? No No ? ? No No No Yes No No Yes No No ? ? ? ? ?
Adium No Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? No No No No
Google Allo (incognito mode)[137] No Active Partially[lower-alpha 26] No No Yes[138] No No ? Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ECC-256 N/A Yes Yes Optional ? ? No ? ? ? Yes ? ? Yes
Facebook Messenger (secret conversations)[139] No Active Partially[lower-alpha 26][140] No No Yes[141] No Stored; not client-side encrypted Stored No Yes[140] Yes[140] ? ? ? Yes[140] ? ? ECC-256[140] N/A Yes[140] Yes Includes groupchat, but it is not encrypted[142] ? ? No ? ? ? Yes Yes[140] ? Yes[140]
Gajim No Active Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] Optional Optional[lower-alpha 31] Yes ? No ? ? ? Optional ? ? No
Jitsi No Active Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes[85] Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? No ? No No
KakaoTalk (secret chats)[143] No Active No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Kopete[lower-alpha 32] No Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? Includes groupchat, but it is not encrypted Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? No No ? ?
Miranda IM No Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes ? ? ? Yes[144] Yes[145] ? Optional[lower-alpha 31][146] ? ? ? ? ECC-192[146] ? ? ? ? Yes[147] ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pidgin No Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes[85] Yes[lower-alpha 20][148] ? Optional[lower-alpha 31][149] ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20][148] ? ? Yes[148] ? ? Yes ? ? Optional[lower-alpha 33] ? ? ?
Telegram (secret chats) No Active Yes[lower-alpha 23] No No Yes No Stored; not client-side encrypted Not stored[150] Stored[150] No Yes[85] Yes ? Yes ? No No No RSA-2048[151] N/A Sort of[lower-alpha 34] Yes Includes groupchat, but it is not encrypted Yes No No Yes No ? No Optional Yes, warning Yes
Xabber No Active Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Stored ? ? Yes[lower-alpha 20] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Client name Encrypted by default Development status Open source client[lower-alpha 1] Decentralized[lower-alpha 2] Servers Contact verification[lower-alpha 3] Encryption ciphers Forward secrecy[lower-alpha 4] Multiple encryption[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] Encrypted groupchat[lower-alpha 7] Encrypted file transfer[lower-alpha 7] Public key and IP unrelated[lower-alpha 8] Proxy /Tor[lower-alpha 9] Transport[lower-alpha 10] Asynchronous encryp. communication[lower-alpha 11] Encrypted client data[lower-alpha 12] Screenshot protection[lower-alpha 13] Self-destructing messages[lower-alpha 13]
Open source Distributed Federated Data Symmetric[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 14] Asymmetric[lower-alpha 15] Asym. key size[lower-alpha 16] TCP UDP SCTP
Profile information[lower-alpha 17] Chat metadata[lower-alpha 18] Contact lists[lower-alpha 19] Cloud backup McEliece RSA DSA ECC NTRU El Gamal Default Max.

Messengers with client-to-server encryption

The following table is an overview of those Instant Messenger clients which provide client-to-server encryption. It does not include clients that also provide end-to-end encryption.

Client name Encryption protocol
AIM[85] ?
BlackBerry Messenger[85] ?
eBuddy[85] ?
Gadu-Gadu TLS
Google Hangouts[85] TLS[152]
Kik Messenger[85] ?
Skype[85][153] TLS[154]
Snapchat[85] ?
Tencent QQ[85] A custom protocol[85]
Yahoo! Messenger[85] ?
Echat[155] ?

Messengers with no encryption

The following is a list of those Instant Messenger clients which do not provide client-to-server encryption:

Notes
  1. 1 2 For transparency to the public, the source code of the encryption algorithms, and its implementation into a messenger, should be subject to public auditing—which may disclose flaws or implementation failures. Whereas, a company offering a messenger which does not reveal the source must be blindly trusted. In general it is recommended to not trust closed source encryption.
  2. 1 2 If a messenger relies on a central server, the setup is closed and may be surveilled. To counter this, decentralized computing architectures have been developed via a peer-to-peer technology, open source chat servers (easily setup by anyone) and/or federated protocols. An architecture in which all the messages do not pass through a central server lessens a single point for surveillance.
  3. 1 2 The clients have a built-in method for users to verify the identity of correspondents they are speaking with and the integrity of the channel, even if the service provider or other third parties are compromised. Two possible ways of doing this are through:
    1. An interface for users to view the fingerprint (hash) of their correspondent's public keys as well as their own, which users can verify manually or out-of-band.
    2. A key exchange protocol with a short-authentication-string comparison. An example is the Socialist millionaire's protocol.
    The solution should verify a binding between the users and the cryptographic channel.
  4. 1 2 Forward secrecy describes the option to change the encryption key every session or even instant. This may be implemented by Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR)
  5. 1 2 3 4 In symmetric cryptography, the same key is used for encryption and decryption. Knowledge of this key needs to be limited to the two communication partners to ensure confidentiality. As asymmetric algorithms are relatively computationally costly in terms of speed, as compared to symmetric cryptography, the session key may be encrypted / decrypted by a asymmetric algorithm and use a much faster symmetric algorithm to encrypt and decrypt messages, reducing computational cost (increasing speed).
  6. 1 2 Multiple encryption is the process of encrypting an already encrypted message one or more times, either using the same or a different algorithm.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Some messengers offer Groupchat and file transfer. These features should transfer only encrypted bytes. Encrypted file transfer may be implemented by Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR)
  8. 1 2 Public keys are used to identify users. A user's IP address can in some cases be related to his or her public key. Messengers that do not relate the user's public key to the user's IP address are considered more secure. This offers more security because the IP cannot be targeted to gain access to the private key. If an attacker knows the IP related to a public key, he or she can try to get on the remote machine, download and decrypt the private key and thus decrypt all encrypted communication.
  9. 1 2 Proxies and Tor might prevent an IP from being related to the public key.
  10. 1 2 Not all messengers support the same transport protocols like TCP, UDP and SCTP.
  11. 1 2 Lets users exchange encrypted messages asynchronously, i.e. participants do not have to be online at the same time.
  12. 1 2 Lets users set a passphrase that encrypts the local message database. The messages are protected if the device is e.g. lost or stolen.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Screenshot protection and self-destructing messages provide only basic protection against casual/inadvertent logging of messages by users.
  14. 1 2 Off-the-Record Messaging encryption uses the AES symmetric algorithm and Diffie–Hellman key exchange. It allows forward secrecy and encrypted file transfers.
  15. 1 2 The critical advantage in an asymmetric key system is that copies of keys do not need to be sent between communicators. This prevents a third party from copying a key while it is in transit, and preventing the third party from spying on all future messages. In addition, if one key was copied by a third party, only messages to the holder of the key would be compromised, not the messages to the other party in the communication. However, asymmetric algorithms are relatively computationally costly in terms of speed, as compared to symmetric cryptography. The most common asymmetric cryptography algorithm is the RSA Algorithm. Alternative asymmetric algorithms are Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), ElGamal and NTRU. NTRU is regarded not vulnerable to decryption by quantum computing.
  16. 1 2 The key size describes the length of the needed mathematical operation. Simply spoken, the longer the key, the longer it takes to crack it.
  17. 1 2 For example user avatars and display names.
  18. 1 2 For example when and to whom messages have been sent, the time when chats were created, lists of chat participants, the roles of chat participants, chat titles, and chat avatars.
  19. 1 2 For example a list of contacts who are also using the software or a list of other users whom the user has communicated with.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Implements Off-the-Record Messaging encryption which uses the AES symmetric algorithm and Diffie–Hellman key exchange. It allows forward secrecy and encrypted file transfers.
  21. ↑ Only one-to-one messages are end-to-end encrypted. Public chatrooms are not end-to-end encrypted.
  22. ↑ iMessage allows users to send instant messages to other iMessage users, as well as SMS/MMS messages to contacts who are not iMessage users. Only instant messages sent to other iMessage users are end-to-end encrypted. iMessage also contains an optional setting that allows fallback to unencrypted SMS/MMS messaging if the user or an iMessage contact is offline.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 See: Comparison of instant messaging clients#General information.
  24. ↑ Signal contains a setting that allows users to send unencrypted SMS/MMS messages to contacts who do not have Signal. This setting is not enabled by default. Users can also enable a setting that allows fallback to unencrypted SMS/MMS messaging if the user or a Signal contact is offline.
  25. ↑ On iOS, the local message database is encrypted by the operating system if the user has a password on their lock screen.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Only the encryption related source code is open.
  27. ↑ Only on the network connection, not on the end-to-end layer.
  28. ↑ Only messages between Viber users with the latest version for Android, iOS, Desktop or Windows 10 are end-to-end encrypted. The Windows Phone and BlackBerry versions are not supported.
  29. ↑ Merged with RedPhone to become Signal.
  30. 1 2 3 The TextSecure server architecture was partially decentralized between December 2013 and February 2016, when it federated with servers run by the developers of CyanogenMod.
  31. 1 2 3 Supported with plugin
  32. ↑ OpenPGP encryption (XEP-0027).
  33. ↑ Supported when used with a protocol/service (e.g. Yahoo, MSN etc.) that supports offline messaging. Most protocols support offline messaging (see the features table, fourth from last column).
  34. ↑ Encryption keys are only changed after a key has been used more than 100 times or has been in use for more than a week.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History of Instant Messaging". The University Of Texas At Austin Graduate School Of Library & Information Science. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "History of Instant Messaging". The top 6 best Instant Message client apps on any platform. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "ANNOUNCE: Empathy 3.12.12". 13 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Gajim, and XMPP client". News section. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Google Allo". APKMirror. Android Police. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Google Allo". App Store. Apple Inc. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  7. ↑ "hike messenger". Play Store. Google. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ "hike messenger". Windows Phone Marketplace. Microsoft. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  9. ↑ "hike messenger". BlackBerry World. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "hike messenger". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ "KDE Update Announcement". Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Miranda IM [r14691] v0.10.80". Miranda IM. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Nimbuzz Messenger on Google Play". Google Play Store. Nimbuzz B.V. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Nimbuzz Messenger". iTunes Store. Nimbuzz B.V. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  15. ↑ "BlackBerry World - Nimbuzz Messenger". BlackBerry World. Nimbuzz B.V. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Nimbuzz". Windows Phone. Nimbuzz B.V. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  17. ↑ Kramlich, Gary (2018-03-08). "Pidgin 2.13.0 has been released!!". Announce. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  18. ↑ "Announcement: QuteCom 2.2.1". Archived from the original on 2 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Releases". ricochet.im. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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