Pidgin
Sign in to savegraphical multi-protocol instant messaging client
Key facts
- Developer
- The Pidgin Project
- Initial release
- December 31, 1998 ; 27 years ago ( 1998-12-31 ) (as Gaim)
- Stable release
- 2.14.14 / 23 January 2025
- Preview release
- 3.0.0 Experimental 5 (31 December 2025) [ ± ]
- Written in
- C
- Platform
- Linux , macOS (unofficial), Microsoft Windows , Solaris (unofficial), FreeBSD , NetBSD (unofficial), OpenBSD (unofficial)
- Available in
- Multiple languages
- Type
- Instant messaging client
- License
- GPL-3.0-or-later
- Website
- pidgin .im
- Repository
- keep .imfreedom .org /pidgin /pidgin /
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Pidgin (formerly named Gaim) is a free and open-source instant messaging client for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and other platforms. Based on the library named libpurple, it supports multiple instant messaging protocols and allows users to connect to different services from a single interface.
Originally created in 1998 as GAIM by Mark Spencer, the software was renamed Pidgin in 2007 following a trademark settlement with AOL. It supports end-to-end encryption through the Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) plugin and is included by default in the privacy-focused operating system Tails. On July 6, 2015, Pidgin scored seven out of seven on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. Development of Pidgin 3, a major rewrite, began with preview releases in late 2024.