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Chat Clients

The ability to send text, voice, and video messages to anywhere in the world has never been easier. Simply fire up the messaging app of your choice, find the intended recipient that uses the same service, and start typing, attaching, and recording away.

If privacy and security are of the utmost importance, secure end-to-end encrypted messaging services such as Signal can ensure that the only people that know the contents of your conversations are exactly who you want.

  1. With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.

  2. Pidgin is an easy to use, multi-protocol chat client client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, XMPP, and more chat networks all at once. It has built-in support for NSS, offering client-to-server message encryption for protocols that support it.

  4. Free and Cross Platform messaging and emailing app that combines common web applications into one.

  5. HexChat

    • Free • Open Source
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Xfce
    • MacPorts
    • XQuartz

    HexChat is an IRC client based on XChat for Linux , but unlike XChat it’s completely free for both Windows and Unix-like systems.

  6. Threema is a new mobile messaging app that puts security first. With true end-to-end encryption, you can rest assured that only you and the intended recipient can read your messages.

  7. Trillian is an instant messaging app that works on phones, tablets, and desktops while keeping your chats neatly synchronized between all of them! We think conversation should be easily shared between all of your devices, not trapped as text messages on your phone.

  8. An alternative Telegram client based on TDLib, with higher speed, slicker animations and experimental features.

  9. Open source Jabber (XMPP) client with multi-account support, clean and simple interface. Being both free (as in freedom!) and ad-free, Xabber is designed to be the best Jabber client for Android .

    Discontinued

    The project seems no longer developed since 2019. Last version, 2.6.6, released in October 2019, can be still downloaded from F-Droid, it's no longer available on Google Play Store

  10. Adium is a free and open source instant messaging application for Mac OS X, written using Mac OS Xs Cocoa API, released under the GNU GPL and developed by the Adium team.

  11. Dino is a modern open-source chat client for the desktop. It focuses on providing a clean and reliable Jabber/XMPP experience while having your privacy in mind. Using GTK+/Vala.

  12. ChatSecure is a free and open source messaging app that features OTR encryption over XMPP. You can connect to your existing accounts on Facebook or Google, create new accounts on public XMPP servers(including via Tor), or even connect to your own server for extra security.

  13. Wickr is a free end-to-end encrypted text, video, picture and voice messenger with full sender control.

  14. Real-time picture chatting.

  15. Ripcord is a desktop chat client for group-centric services like Slack and Discord. It provides a traditional compact desktop interface designed for power users.

  16. tawk.to is a live chat app that lets you monitor and chat with visitors on your website or from a customizable page.

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