Comparison of instant messaging clients

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. External links may lead to extensions that add a feature to a client.

General information

Client	Author, creator	First public release	Type	Latest stable version	License
Adium	Adam Iser, Evan Schoenberg	2001-09	Multi-protocol	1.5.10.2 (March 9, 2016) [±]	GPLv2
aMSN	The aMSN team	2002-05	Single-protocol	0.98.4	GPL
AIM	AOL	1997-05	Single-protocol	8.0.8.1 (April 6, 2015) [±]	Clickwrap
Ayttm	Colin Leroy and Philip Tellis	2003-04	Multi-protocol	Linux: 0.6.1 Windows: 0.4.6-17	GPL
BBM	BlackBerry Limited	2006	Single-protocol	10.5.5.38 (BlackBerry 10) (31 October 2014) [±] 8.5.1.8 (BlackBerry) (3 August 2014) [±] 2.5.0.36 (Android) (10 November 2014) [±] 2.5.0.26 (iOS) (31 October 2014) [±]	Proprietary
BitlBee	Wilmer van der Gaast	2002-08-09	Multi-protocol IRC gateway	3.4.1 (16 June 2015) [±]	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) [±]	GPL
Coccinella	Mats Bengtsson	1999-12-01	Single-protocol	0.96.16 (December 1, 2009)	GPLv3
eBuddy	Paulo Taylor	2003-03-09	Multi-protocol	2011	Clickwrap
emesene	Luis Mariano Guerra	2006-05-24	Multi-protocol	2.12.5	GPL
Empathy	The GNOME Project	2007-05	Multi-protocol	3.12.11[1] (October 14, 2015) [±]	GPL
FaceTime	Apple Inc.	2010	Single-protocol	2.0 (July 25, 2012)	Proprietary
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
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)	Clickwrap
Gajim	Yann Le Boulanger	2004-05-21	Single-protocol	0.16.5 (December 28, 2015) [±]	GPL
Google Hangouts	Google, Inc.	2013-05-15	Single-protocol		Clickwrap
Hookt	Hookt, Inc.	2011-09-14	Single-protocol		Proprietary
Hike	Bharti SoftBank	2012-12-12	Single-protocol	3.2.0 (Android, August 12, 2014)[2] 2.6.2.0 (Windows Phone, July 23, 2014)[3] 2.6.2 (BlackBerry, May 7, 2014)[4] 2.6.0 (iOS, August 12, 2014)[5] 2.6.0 (Symbian)	Freeware
IBM Lotus Sametime	IBM, Ubique	1998	Multi-protocol — proprietary T.120, SIP, XMPP	9.0.0 (September 20, 2013)	Clickwrap
iChat	Apple Inc.	2002-08	Multi-protocol	6.0.1 (1002) (February 1, 2012), replaced by Messages	Clickwrap
ICQ	Mail.Ru	1996-11	Single-protocol	8.0.5977 (January 14, 2016)	Apache license
IMVU	Will Harvey	2001-07	Multiple-protocol	3.0	Clickwrap
Indoona	Tiscali S.p.A.	2009	Single-protocol	3+	Proprietary
Instantbird	Florian Quèze	2007	Multi-protocol	1.5 (December 17, 2013) [±]	GPLv2
Jitsi	Emil Ivov	2003	Multi-protocol	2.8 (build.5426) (March 19, 2015) [±]	LGPL
Kadu	Kadu Team	2001-08	Multi-protocol	2.0 (February 21, 2015)	GPLv2
KakaoTalk	Kakao Corp.	2010-03-18	single-protocol	iOS: 5+ Android: 4+ Windows Phone: 2+ BlackBerry: 3+ Windows 8	Proprietary
Kik Messenger	Kik Interactive	2010-10	Multi-protocol	6.2	Freeware
Kopete	Kopete Team	2002-03-03	Multi-protocol	1.7.2 (October 13, 2015) [±][6]	GPL
Libon	Orange S.A.	2012-11-21			Proprietary
Line	LINE Corporation	2011		iOS: 3.8.2 Android: 3.8.5 Windows Phone: 2.6.0.137 BlackBerry: 1.8.23 Windows 8	Proprietary
MCabber	Mikael Berthe	2005-06-07	Single-protocol	1.0.1 (January 27, 2016) [±]	GPL
Meetro	Paul Bragiel & Samuel Stauffer	2005	Multi-protocol	Windows: 0.96 beta OS X: 0.53 beta	Clickwrap
Messages	Apple Inc.	2012-07-25	Multi-protocol	8.1.3 (January 27, 2015)	Clickwrap
Microsoft Lync	Microsoft Corporation	2005	Single-protocol	2013 (October 2, 2012)	Clickwrap
Miranda IM	Miranda IM project	2000-02-06	Multi-protocol	0.10.48[7] (24 March 2016) [±]	GPL
MySpaceIM	MySpace	2006-05-09	Single-protocol	1.0.754.0 (February 7, 2008)	Clickwrap
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: 3.7.1 (23 July 2015) [±][8] iOS: 4.1.0 (28 July 2015) [±][9] BlackBerry OS: 4.0 (10 December 2013) [±][10] Windows Phone: 1.1.8.1 (16 April 2014) [±][11]	Clickwrap
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)	Clickwrap
Paltalk		1998-06	Multi-protocol	Version 10.2 Build 455	Clickwrap
Pidgin	Mark Spencer	1998-11	Multi-protocol	2.10.12 (January 2, 2016) [±]	GPL
Psi	Justin Karneges	2001	Single-protocol	0.15 (October 3, 2012) [±]	GPL
QIP	Ilgam Zyulkorneev	2004	Multi-protocol	QIP 2012 version 4.0 (build 8866) (27 November 2012) [±]	Clickwrap
QuteCom	QuteCom	2004	Multi-protocol	2.2.1 (22 June 2011[12]) [±]	GPL
Ricochet	Invisible.im	2014-06	Single-protocol	1.1.2 (February 13, 2016[13]) [±]	BSD
Sicher	SHAPE GmbH	2014-06	Single-protocol	1.1	Freeware
Signal	Open Whisper Systems	2014-07	Single-protocol	Android 3.15.2 (March 31, 2016[14]) [±] iOS 2.2 (November 10, 2015[15]) [±]	GPLv3
Skype	Skype Technologies, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation	2003	Single-protocol	List of releases Windows desktop 7.23.0.105 (29 April 2016) [±][16] Messaging + Skype (Windows 10) 2.13.20000.0 (21 January 2016) [±][17][18] Xbox One 1.9.2.1003 (16 November 2015) [±][19] Windows Phone 2.31.0.9 (16 December 2015) [±][20][21] Windows RT (formerly 8/8.1) 3.1 (12 August 2014) [±][22] Mac 7.21 (16 February 2016) [±][23] Linux 4.3.0.37 (18 June 2014) [±][24] Android 6.32.0.570 (3 May 2016) [±][25] iPhone 6.13 (30 March 2016) [±][26] iPad 6.13 (30 March 2016) [±][27] BlackBerry 6.1.0.16424 (14 September 2015) [±][28]	Freemium (Adware)
Spark (XMPP client)	Ignite Realtime	2006-09	Single-protocol	2.7.7 (April 24, 2016) [±]	Apache License
Surespot	Surespot LLC	2013	Single-protocol	iOS 11 (September 24, 2015[29]) [±] Android 63 (October 9, 2015[30]) [±]	GPLv3
Telegram	Telegram Messenger LLP	2013	Single-protocol	Android 3.8.0 (April 11, 2016[31]) [±] iOS 3.8.1 (April 28, 2016[32]) [±] Windows Phone [phone][33]) [±] Web Application 0.5.3 (February 10, 2016[34]) [±] OS X 2.09 (April 11, 2016[35]) [±] Desktop 0.9.46 (April 27, 2016[36]) [±]	GPLv2, GPLv3[37]
Tencent QQ	Tencent Holdings	1999-02	Single-protocol	See current releases	Clickwrap
TextSecure	Open Whisper Systems	2010-05	Single-protocol	Discontinued (merged with RedPhone to become Signal)	GPLv3
Threema	Threema GmbH	2012-12	Single-protocol	iOS 2.6.0 (February 1, 2016) [±] [38] Android 2.6 (January 21, 2016) [±] [39] Windows Phone 1.5.0 (February 3, 2016) [±] [40]	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: 5.6 (build 5) (May 27, 2015) [±] Mac OS X: 3.3 (build 24) (December 28, 2015) [±] Linux: 2.0 (build 7) (April 25, 2016) [±] Android: 4.0.0.3 (May 3, 2016) [±] iOS: 3.1.0.36 (October 7, 2015) [±] BlackBerry: 1.1.0.45 (October 26, 2011) [±] Web-Based: 4.2.0.9d (February 11, 2016) [±] Server: 2.0 (build 28) (April 21, 2016) [±]	Clickwrap
Tuenti	Tuenti	2006	Multi-protocol		Proprietary
Upptalk	Upptalk	2010	Dual-protocol	iOS 2.4 (November 26, 2014[41]) [±] Android 2.0.2 (February 12, 2014) [±] Windows Phone 7.x 1.0.1.7 (September 12, 2013) [±] Windows Phone 8.x 1.0.0.4 (September 18, 2013) [±] BlackBerry OS 1.0.1 (May 31, 2013) [±] Kindle Fire 2.0 (December 19, 2013[42]) [±]	Freeware
Viber	Talmon Marco, Igor Megzinik, Sani Maroli and Ofer Smocha	2010-12-02	Single-protocol	Android: 5.8.0.1736 (April 18, 2016[43]) [±] iOS: 6.0 (April 19, 2016[44]) [±] Windows Mobile: 4.5.4 (December 18, 2015[45]) [±] BlackBerry OS: 4.3.0.728 (April 23, 2014[46]) [±]	Freemium
RingID	Ring Inc.	2015	Multi-protocol	4.1.4 (Android, March 16, 2016)[47] 4.1.1.4 (Windows Phone, March 9, 2016)[48] 4.2.2 (iOS, March 19, 2016)[49]	Freeware
WeChat	Tencent Holdings	2011-01	Single-protocol	iOS 6.3.8 (December 11, 2015[50][51]) [±] OS X 1.2.2 (August 18, 2015[52]) [±] Android 4.4. (June 3, 2015[53]) [±] Windows Phone 6.0.4 (June 26, 2015[54]) [±] Symbian V3 4.2 (February 4, 2013[55]) [±] Symbian V5 4.2 (January 17, 2013[56]) [±] BlackBerry OS 3.6 (May 30, 2014[57]) [±] BlackBerry 10 1.0.1.16 (July 30, 2013[57]) [±] Windows 1.1 (May 6, 2015[58]) [±]	Clickwrap
WhatsApp	WhatsApp Inc.	2009-08	Single-protocol	Android: 2.16.16[59] (April 6, 2016[60]) [±] BlackBerry: 2.16.4 (March 3, 2016[61]) [±] iOS: 2.16.1 (April 2, 2016[62]) [±] Symbian: 2.16.9[63] [±] Nokia S40 devices: 2.16.4[64] [±] Windows Phone: 2.16.14 (April 8, 2016) [±]	Proprietary
Wickr	Wickr Inc.	2012-06	Single-protocol	Android: 2.6.3 (March 1, 2016) [±] iOS: 2.6.3 (March 1, 2016) [±] Windows: 2.6.0 [±] Mac OS X: 2.6.0 [±] Linux: 2.6.0 [±]	Proprietary
Windows Live Messenger	Microsoft Corporation	1999-07	Dual-protocol	2012 (v16.4.3508.205) (April 8, 2013) [±]	Clickwrap
Wire	Wire Swiss GmbH	2014	Single-protocol	iOS: 2.2 Android: 2.3 OS X: 2.5 Windows: 2.6ch Web: 2016-04-08	Proprietary
Xfire	Xfire Inc.	2004	Dual-protocol	1.155 (March 20, 2013) [±]	Clickwrap
Yahoo! Messenger	Yahoo!	1999-06-21	Dual-protocol	Windows: 11.5.0.228 OS X: 3.0.2 Unix: 1.0.4	Clickwrap
Zephyr	Project Athena	1987	Single-protocol	2.0	MIT
Client	Author, creator	First public release date	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	OS X	Unix-like	Haiku	Amiga	Windows Phone	Android	BlackBerry OS	iOS	Symbian	MeeGo	Java ME	WebOS	Web	VGCs
Adium	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
BBM	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
AIM	Yes	Yes	Dropped	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
aMSN	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
AQQ	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Ayttm	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
BitlBee	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Bombus	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Centericq	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
climm	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Coccinella	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
eBuddy	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
emesene	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Empathy	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Facebook Messenger	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
FaceTime	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No
Fire	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Gadu-Gadu	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Gajim	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Google Hangouts	Partial[lower-alpha 1]	Partial[lower-alpha 1]	Partial[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Hookt	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Hike	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
IBM Lotus Sametime	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
ICQ	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
IMVU	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Indoona	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Instantbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Jitsi	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Unstable	Unstable	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
KakaoTalk	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kadu	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Kik	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kopete	Yes[lower-alpha 3][65]	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Line	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Messages	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No
MCabber	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Microsoft Lync	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Miranda IM	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MySpaceIM	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
naim	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nimbuzz	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Palringo	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Paltalk	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Pidgin	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Psi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
QIP	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
QuteCom	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Signal	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	In beta[66]	No
Snapchat	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Surespot	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Skype	Yes	Yes	No[lower-alpha 2]	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	PSP PSV XB1
SOMA	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Spark (XMPP client)	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 4]	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Telegram (standard messages)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Coming soon[67]	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Telegram (secret chats)	Dropped	Yes/No[lower-alpha 5]	Yes/No[lower-alpha 6]	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tencent QQ	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
TextSecure	No	No	No	No	No	No	Discontinued (merged with RedPhone to become Signal)	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Threema	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tkabber	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tox	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Trillian	Yes	Yes	Partial[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 2]	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Tuenti	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Viber	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
WeChat	No	Yes[68]	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
RingID	Yes[69]	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
WhatsApp	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	To be discontinued in 2016[70]	Yes	Yes	Yes[71]	No	No	Yes[72]	No
Wickr	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Live Messenger	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Xbox
Xfire	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Yahoo! Messenger	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
Yuilop	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zephyr	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
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. Only available as Google Chrome/Chromium plugin. No native application available.
2. The only supported desktop Unix-like platform is GNU/Linux.
3. May not be the final version suitable for everyday use.
4. Runs under Java, no native installer for latest version
5. Secret chats supported only in native application Telegram. Cross-platform application Telegram Desktop does not support them.
6. Secret chats supported only in the third-party applications Cutegram and Telegram CLI. Cross-platform application Telegram Desktop does not support them.
7. Currently in beta testing.

Protocol support

Client	WLM[lower-alpha 1]	Y!M	AIM/ICQ[lower-alpha 2]	XMPP[lower-alpha 3]	IRC	IBM Lotus Sametime	Novell GroupWise Messenger	Gadu-Gadu	QQ	Xfire	Skype[lower-alpha 2]	MySpaceIM	SIP	Others
Adium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Partial[lower-alpha 4]	Yes	No	MobileMe, Zephyr, NateOn, Tlen
AIM	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 5]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
aMSN	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AQQ	Partial	Partial	Partial	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Tlen, Twitch.tv
Ayttm	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
BitlBee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A[lower-alpha 6]	Depends[lower-alpha 7]							No	Depends[lower-alpha 7]
Centericq	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
climm	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 8]	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
eBuddy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
emesene	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Empathy	Yes	Depends[lower-alpha 7]		Yes	Yes	Depends[lower-alpha 7]							Yes	Depends[lower-alpha 7]
Fire	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Gajim	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IBM Lotus Sametime	No	Yes/No[lower-alpha 9]	Yes/No[lower-alpha 9]	Yes/No[lower-alpha 9]	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
ICQ	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 8]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IMVU	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	IMVU
Instantbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Netsoul
Jitsi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Kadu	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
KDE Telepathy	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	KDE Talk, Telegram
Kopete	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial[lower-alpha 4]	No	No	SILC, WinPopup
Messages	No	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 5]	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MobileMe
Miranda IM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 10]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Tlen
naim	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Lily
Nimbuzz	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	Yes	Twitter, Facebook chat, Google Talk
Palringo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	?	?	?	No	?
Paltalk	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	?
Pidgin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 10]	Yes	Yes	Battle.net, NateOn, SILC, Tlen, Zephyr
QIP	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	MRA, XIMSS
QuteCom	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Skype	Partial	No	No	Partial[lower-alpha 11]	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Spark (XMPP client)	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 10]	No
Tencent QQ	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Tkabber	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Trillian	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 12]	Yes	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 12]	No	Yes[lower-alpha 12]	Yes[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 12]	Yes[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 12]	Yes[lower-alpha 12]	No[73][lower-alpha 12]	Yes	No	LinkedIn,[lower-alpha 12] Foursquare,[lower-alpha 12] ASTRA, VZ[lower-alpha 12]
Windows Live Messenger	Yes	Yes	No	Partial[lower-alpha 11]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Yahoo! Messenger	Partial[lower-alpha 13]	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Upptalk	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zephyr	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Zephyr
	WLM	Y!M	AIM/ICQ	XMPP	IRC	IBM Lotus Sametime	Novell GroupWise Messenger	Gadu-Gadu	QQ	Xfire	Skype	MySpaceIM	SIP	Others

1. Formerly named MSN Messenger or .NET Messenger protocol
2. Supports messaging to a phone number (text messaging service).
3. Commonly termed Jabber, used in Facebook, LiveJournal, Tweeter, Identi.ca, etc.
4. Needs running official Skype client.
5. Via AIM account only.
6. Bitlbee is accessed via IRC.
7. Supported via Pidgin back-end, depends on its version
8. Via ICQ account only.
9. Feature is missing from client, but can be used via IBM Sametime Gateway.
10. Available as plugin.
11. Supports importing Facebook contacts and allows to send messages to and receive from Facebook IM users.
12. Not supported in versions for Android (checked 12 november 2012 in latest version 1.2.0.11)
13. Via Yahoo! Messenger account only.

XMPP-related features

Client	Transports[lower-alpha 1]	File transfer (XEP-0096)[lower-alpha 2]	Multi-user chat	Link-local (XEP-0174)	Jingle
					File transfer[lower-alpha 2]	Voice calls	Video calls
Adium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
AQQ	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
BitlBee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Bombus[74]	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
climm	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Coccinella[75]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Telepathy-based[lower-alpha 3][76]	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gajim[77]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jitsi	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kadu	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Kopete	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Messages	No	Yes	Only join[lower-alpha 4]	Yes	Yes	No	No
MCabber[78]	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Nimbuzz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pidgin[79]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Except Windows[lower-alpha 5]	Except Windows[lower-alpha 5]
Psi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Spark (XMPP client)	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes[lower-alpha 6]	Yes[lower-alpha 6]
Tkabber[80]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Trillian	No	Yes	Only Windows[lower-alpha 7]	Only Windows[lower-alpha 7]	No	No	No

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. 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. Feature unavailable on Windows.
6. Supported via plugin.
7. Feature available on Windows only.

Features

Information on what features each of clients support.

Client	Number of features included	Toolkits or SDKs	File transfer	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	Remote desktop assistance	Whiteboard	RTL texting
Adium	11	Cocoa	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?
AIM	11	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	No
aMSN	14	Tcl/Tk	Yes	http, socks5, msn gateway	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
AQQ	14	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	with plugin	Yes	Partial	No	Partial	Yes	No	No	Yes
Ayttm	9	GTK2	No	http, socks4/5	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Partial	Partial	No	No	No
BitlBee	3	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	N/A	Yes	No	No	N/A	?	?	No	Yes	?	?	?
Bombus	10	Java ME	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
Centericq	5	ncurses	Partial	?	No	?	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	?	?	?
climm	7	line based	Yes	?	N/A	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes	N/A	No	?
Coccinella	11	Tcl/Tk	Yes	http, socks4/5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	?
eBuddy	6	No	Partial	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Empathy	12	GTK3	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Fire	9	Cocoa	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gadu-Gadu	8	Qt	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	?	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	No	?
Gajim	12	GTK2	Yes	http	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Google Talk	8	W32	Yes	?	Partial	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Third party plugin	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
IBM Lotus Sametime	15	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	available	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
ICQ	12	W32	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
IMVU	6	?	No	?	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	No	Partial[lower-alpha 2]	No	Yes	No	?	No	Yes	?	?	?
Jitsi	12	Java	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Kadu	10	Qt	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
Kopete	13	Qt/KDE	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	With plugin	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Messages	11	Cocoa	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial[lower-alpha 3]	?
MCabber	4	Curses	No	?	No	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
Miranda IM	12	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	No	Yes	Yes
Palringo	3	?	No	?	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Partial (picture capture only)	?	No	No	?
Paltalk	9	N/A	Yes	?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Pidgin	7	GTK2	Partial	Yes, http, socks4/5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (XMPP in Linux)	No	Yes (XMPP in Linux)	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
Psi	6	KDE/Qt	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial (Icon sets only)	Not Yet	No	No	Yes	Partial (Linux & Unix)	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
QIP	10	W32, VCL	Yes	Yes, http(s), socks4/4A/5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
QuteCom	6	Qt	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
Skype	12	Qt/KDE, W32	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	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	11	W32	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Telegram	12	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Tkabber	13	Tcl/Tk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Tox	9	Qt, GTK, Ncurses, WPF	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Trillian	12	W32, Cocoa	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes
Wickr	7	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Windows Live Messenger	15	W32	Yes	Yes, http, socks4/5,	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Xfire	6	W32	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	Yes	Partial	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?
Yahoo! Messenger	11	W32, Cocoa, GTK	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Partial	Yes
Yuilop	7	?	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Partial	?
Client	Number of features included	Toolkits or SDKs	File transfer	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	Remote desktop assistance	Whiteboard	RTL texting

1. 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. Supported with plugin

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	?
AQQ	No	Yes	Yes	with plugin	Yes	Yes	No
Ayttm	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?
BitlBee	No	N/A	Yes	?	?	?	?
Centericq	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
climm	N/A	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
Coccinella	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Empathy	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
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	?	?
QIP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, emoticons	?
QuteCom	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
Signal	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Snapchat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Skype	No	No	No	No	?	Yes, animated emoticons	?
Telegram (standard messages)	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Telegram (secret chats)	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
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	?
Windows Live Messenger	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes, animated emoticons, winks	?
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. Feature unavailable in standalone version.

Secure messengers

The table describes an overview of those Instant Messenger clients which provide end-to-end encryption.

Client name	Development status	Open source client[lower-alpha 1]	Client- side encryption[lower-alpha 2]	Decentralized[lower-alpha 3]	Contact verification[lower-alpha 4]	Encryption ciphers								Forward secrecy[lower-alpha 5]	Multiple encryption[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]	Encrypted groupchat[lower-alpha 8]	Encrypted file transfer[lower-alpha 8]	Public key and IP unrelated[lower-alpha 9]	Proxy /Tor[lower-alpha 10]	TCP[lower-alpha 11]	UDP[lower-alpha 11]	SCTP[lower-alpha 11]	Asynchronous encryp. communication[lower-alpha 12]	Encrypted client data[lower-alpha 13]	Screenshot protection[lower-alpha 14]	Self-destructing messages[lower-alpha 14]
						Symmetric[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 15]	Asymmetric[lower-alpha 16]					Asym. key size[lower-alpha 17]
							RSA	DSA	ECC	NTRU	El Gamal	Default	Max.
Adium	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	No
ChatSecure	Active	Yes	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 20]	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	Optional	?	?	?	Optional	?	?	?	No	?	?	No
Conversations	Active	Yes	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	Optional	?	Optional	?	No	?	?	?	Optional	?	?	No
iMessage	Active	No[lower-alpha 21]	Yes[lower-alpha 20][lower-alpha 21]	No	No[lower-alpha 20]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No[lower-alpha 21]	?	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	No	No
Jitsi	Active	Yes	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 20]	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	No	?	No	No
Kopete[lower-alpha 22]	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	No	Optional[lower-alpha 19]	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?
Line	Active	No	Optional	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	Optional	No	No	No
Pidgin	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Optional	Optional	Optional[lower-alpha 20]	Optional[lower-alpha 19][81]	Optional[lower-alpha 23][82]	?	?	?	?	?	4096	Optional[lower-alpha 19][81]	?	?	Optional[81]	?	?	Yes	?	?	Optional[lower-alpha 24]	?	?	?
RetroShare	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	Yes	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	2048	4096	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional	Optional	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
Ricochet	Active	Yes	Yes	Yes	No[83]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes[83]	No[83]	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No[83]	No	No
Sicher	Active	No[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	2048	2048	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?
Signal	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18][lower-alpha 25]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	?	No	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	No	No	2048	2048	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	No	Yes	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 27]	Yes[lower-alpha 28]	Yes	No
Surespot	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	No	Yes[lower-alpha 29]	?	No	No	1024	2048	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?
Telegram (standard messages)	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	No	No	No[lower-alpha 20]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	No	No	No	No	N/A	?	?	No	No	N/A	Optional	No	No
Telegram (secret chats)	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	1024	2048	Sort of[lower-alpha 30]	No	No	No	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	Optional	Yes, warning	Yes
TextSecure	Discontinued[lower-alpha 31]	Yes[lower-alpha 18][lower-alpha 25]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Partially[lower-alpha 32]	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	?	No	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	No	No	2048	2048	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	Yes[lower-alpha 26]	No	Yes	No	No	Yes[lower-alpha 27]	Yes	Yes	No
Threema	Active	No[lower-alpha 20]	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes/No[lower-alpha 33]	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?
Tox	Active	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Viber	Active	No	Yes/No[lower-alpha 34]	No	Yes/No[lower-alpha 34]	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes/No[lower-alpha 34]	?	?	No	?	?	?	Yes/No[lower-alpha 34]	?	?	?
WASTE	Discontinued	Yes[lower-alpha 18]	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	?	?	No	No	1024	1024	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?
WhatsApp	Active	No	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	No	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	?	?	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	?	?	?	?	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	No	?	?	?	Yes[lower-alpha 35]	No	No	No
Wickr	Active	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	No	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes[lower-alpha 20]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Wire	Active	Partially[lower-alpha 36]	Yes	No	Yes[84]	Yes[85]	?	?	Yes[85]	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Yes[85]	Yes[85]	?	Yes	Yes	No	No
Client name	Development status	Open source client[lower-alpha 1]	Client- side encryption[lower-alpha 2]	Decentralized[lower-alpha 3]	Contact verification[lower-alpha 4]	Encryption ciphers								Forward secrecy[lower-alpha 5]	Multiple encryption[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]	Encrypted groupchat[lower-alpha 8]	Encrypted file transfer[lower-alpha 8]	Public key and IP unrelated[lower-alpha 9]	Proxy /Tor[lower-alpha 10]	TCP[lower-alpha 11]	UDP[lower-alpha 11]	SCTP[lower-alpha 11]	Asynchronous encryp. communication[lower-alpha 12]	Encrypted client data[lower-alpha 13]	Screenshot protection[lower-alpha 14]	Self-destructing messages[lower-alpha 14]
						Symmetric[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 15]	Asymmetric[lower-alpha 16]					Asym. key size[lower-alpha 17]
							RSA	DSA	ECC	NTRU	El Gamal	Default	Max.

Client Name	Encryption	OTR[lower-alpha 15]
AIM	Yes[lower-alpha 37][lower-alpha 38][lower-alpha 20]	?
aMSN	Yes[lower-alpha 38][lower-alpha 23]	?
Bombus[74]	Yes[lower-alpha 38] Not OpenPGP.	No
Coccinella[75]	Yes[lower-alpha 38] Not OpenPGP.	No
Centericq	Yes[lower-alpha 22]	?
eBuddy	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
Fire	Yes[lower-alpha 39]	?
Gadu-Gadu	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
IBM Lotus Sametime	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
Kadu	Yes[lower-alpha 38] Not OpenPGP.	Yes
Paltalk	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
QIP	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
QuteCom	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?
Skype	Sort of[lower-alpha 40][86]	?
Telepathy-based[lower-alpha 41][76]	Yes/No[87][88] Not OpenPGP.	?
Yahoo! Messenger	Yes[lower-alpha 38][lower-alpha 20]	?
Yuilop	Yes[lower-alpha 38]	?

Messengers with no encryption

Client Name	Encryption
Empathy[lower-alpha 41]	No
Google Talk	No
ICQ	No
Mxit	No[lower-alpha 20]
Nimbuzz	No[89]
Palringo	No
Tencent QQ	No[lower-alpha 20]
Windows Live Messenger	No
Xfire	No

1. 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. The client uses client-side encryption to encrypt the data before it is transmitted, with a key that is stored on the device of the user, not on a remote server on the internet.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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)
6. 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).
7. Multiple encryption is the process of encrypting an already encrypted message one or more times, either using the same or a different algorithm.
8. 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)
9. 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.
10. Proxies and Tor might prevent an IP from being related to the public key.
11. Not all messengers support the same transport protocols like TCP, UDP and SCTP.
12. Lets users exchange encrypted messages asynchronously, i.e. participants do not have to be online at the same time.
13. Lets users set a passphrase that encrypts the local message database. The messages are protected if the device is e.g. lost or stolen.
14. Screenshot protection and self-destructing messages provide only basic protection against casual/inadvertent logging of messages by users.
15. Off-the-Record Messaging encryption uses the AES symmetric algorithm and Diffie–Hellman key exchange. It allows forward secrecy and encrypted file transfers.
16. 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.
17. The key size describes the length of the needed mathematical operation. Simply spoken, the longer the key, the longer it takes to crack it. Today a key size of 2048 for asymmetric keys is recommended.
18. See: Comparison of instant messaging clients#General information.
19. 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.
20. "Secure Messaging Scorecard. Which apps and tools actually keep your messages safe?". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2014-11-04.
21. Lee, Micah (2 March 2015). "You Should Really Consider Installing Signal, an Encrypted Messaging App for iPhone". The Intercept. First Look Media. Retrieved 12 January 2016. Apple’s iMessage ... employs strong encryption, but only when communicating between two Apple devices and only when there is a proper data connection. Otherwise, iMessage falls back on insecure SMS messaging. iMessage also lacks forward secrecy and inspectable source code.
22. OpenPGP encryption (XEP-0027).
23. Supported with plugin
24. 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).
25. Open Whisper Systems. "TextSecure". GitHub. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
26. Open Whisper Systems. "ProtocolV2". GitHub. Retrieved 17 January 2015. The TextSecure encrypted messaging protocol is an end-to-end encrypted messaging protocol with deniability guarantees and message-level forward secrecy, similar to OTR Messaging. [It] uses the no header keys variation of the axolotl ratchet and protobuf records.
27. Moxie Marlinspike (22 August 2013). "Forward Secrecy for Asynchronous Messages". Open Whisper Systems. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
28. On iOS, the local message database is encrypted by the operating system if the user has a password on their lock screen.
29. "Everyday Usage Improvements #27". user:2fours, item 3: github.com. 2013-11-10.
30. 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.
31. Merged with RedPhone to become Signal.
32. The TextSecure server architecture was partially decentralized between December 2013 and February 2016.
33. Only on the network connection, not on the end-to-end layer.
34. Only between users with the latest Viber version for Android, iOS, Desktop or Windows 10. The Windows Phone and BlackBerry versions are not supported.
35. "WhatsApp Encryption Overview – Technical white paper" (PDF). WhatsApp Inc. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
36. "Wire open sourced encryption related source code in March 2016". github.com. 2016-04-13.
37. Feature only supported on Windows
38. Uses encryption; but the type isn't known at the time this client was added to this table.
39. Incompatible to other clients.
40. Microsoft advertises proprietary "encryption" with Skype but it is not considered secure.
41. Both Empathy and KDE Telepathy are based on Telepathy framework and share same properties in regard of XMPP features support.

See also

• List of video telecommunication services and product brands
• Comparison of instant messaging protocols
• Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
• Comparison of LAN messengers
• Comparison of VoIP software
• LAN messenger
• List of SIP software
• Secure instant messaging
• Windows Messenger service

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