The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.
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General
+ Client Developer Initial release Platform Latest release License (client) License (server) Monthly active users Version Date BBM EnterpriseBlackberryiOS, Android freeware Beeper Briar Android (peer-to-peer over Bluetooth, WiFi, or Tor network) Conversations Daniel Gultsch Android Discord Discord Inc. Android rowspan="5" freeware rowspan="5" 150 million (2021) iOS Linux macOS Windows Element New Vector Limited Android rowspan="6" rowspan="6" 43 million (2021) iOS Linux macOS Windows Web Fluxer Fluxer Platform AB Fractal Linux desktops and mobile OSs Gadu-Gadu Łukasz Foltyn, GG Network S.A. freeware Gajim Yann Le Boulanger BSD rowspan="4" rowspan="4" Linux macOS Windows Gitter New Vector Ltd Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux (Synapse)Google Chat (formerly Google Hangouts)Google (as Google Hangouts) (as Google Chat) Android rowspan="3" freeware rowspan="3" 1 billion (2021) 500 million active (2020) iOS Web Google Messages (RCS) Android rowspan="3" freeware rowspan="3" 1 billion (2021) 500 million active (2020) Web Wear OS ICQ Mail.Ru adware freemium Defunct Jami Savoir-faire Linux Android rowspan="5" rowspan="5" (peer-to-peer) iOS Linux macOS Windows Jitsi Emil Ivov Desktop 20 million (2020) KakaoTalk Kakao Corp. freeware 47 million (2021)Keet Kik Messenger Medialab Android rowspan="2" adware freemium rowspan="2" 15 million (2017) iOS Line LY Corporation Android rowspan="5" freemium rowspan="5" 169 million (2020) iOS Chrome macOS Windows Linphone Belledonne Communications Android rowspan="5" or proprietary SIP protocol, could connect to any SIP provider/server, including Linphone's service only for SIP linphone service : over 700,000 in 2024 iOS Linux macOS Windows BSD Mattermost Mattermost Inc Android rowspan="5" rowspan="5" iOS Linux macOS Windows Messenger Meta Platforms Android rowspan="4" freeware rowspan="4" 988 million (2022) iOS macOS Windows Movim Timothée Jaussoin Any, Progressive web application Mumble Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android, iOS 1.4.287 2022-09-14 Olvid Palringo Palringo Ltd Android rowspan="2" freemium rowspan="2" iOS Paltalk AVM Software, Inc freeware 5.5 million (2013) Pidgin Mark Spencer BSD rowspan="4" Umpteen, both open protocols and interfaces with proprietary messengers Linux macOS Windows Psi Psi and Psi+ developers Linux rowspan="3" rowspan="3" macOS Windows QQ Tencent Holdings Android rowspan="5" adware rowspan="5" 597 million (2023) iOS, iPadOS, watchOS Windows macOS Linux RetroShare Cyril Soler, Gioacchino Mazzurco (peer-to-peer) Ricochet Invisible.im FreeBSD (fork took over development, now at 3.0.15) rowspan="4" rowspan="4" (peer-to-peer over the Tor network) Linux macOS Windows Session Session Technology Foundation (STF) Android iOS Microsoft Windows macOS Linux Funding needed to keep activePrivacy Messenger Session Is Staring Down a 90-Day Countdown to Obscurity Signal Signal Foundation Android rowspan="3" 40 million (2021) iOS Desktop Skype Skype Technologies, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation adware freemium Defunct Slack Slack Technologies freemium 12 million (2019) Snapchat Snap Inc. Android rowspan="2" freeware rowspan="2" 557 million (2022) iOS Surespot Surespot LLC Android rowspan="2" Defunct iOS TeamNote TeamNote Limited Telegram Telegram Messenger LLP Android rowspan="4" 700 million (2022)900 million (2024) iOS, iPadOS Desktop macOS Threema Threema GmbH Android rowspan="2" rowspan="3" 10 million (2021) iOS Web Trillian Cerulean Studios Android rowspan="6" adware freemium rowspan="6" iOS Linux macOS Windows Web Viber Rakuten Viber Android rowspan="5" freemium rowspan="5" 260 million (2019) iOS Linux macOS Windows Voxt.ai Actual Chat, Inc. Android rowspan="4" rowspan="4" iOS Web Windows WeChat Tencent Holdings Limited freeware 1.263 billion (2022) WhatsApp Meta Platforms Android rowspan="4" freeware rowspan="4" 2 billion (2020), confirmed in 2024 iOS macOS Windows Wire Wire Swiss GmbH Android 4.15.4 2025-10-16 rowspan="6" rowspan="6" 20 million iOS 4.12.2 2026-01-21 Linux 3.40.3882 2025-12-10 macOS 3.40.5442 2025-12-10 Windows 3.40.5233 2025-12-10 Web Webapp-2026-01 2026-01-27 Client Developer Initial release Platform Latest release License (client) License (server) Monthly active users Version Date
Operating system support
+ Operating system support for messaging clients Client Windows macOS Linux Web Android iOS iPadOS Beeper Briar Discord Element Fluxer Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Messages (Apple) Messenger Mumble Movim Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Ricochet Session Signal Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Windows macOS Linux Web Android iOS iPadOS
Connectivity
Client Registration requirement Independent of mobile phone End-to-end encryption Open source servers Federated servers Briar (P2P) (P2P) Discord Element Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami (P2P) (P2P) Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Messages (Apple) Messenger Movim Mumble Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare (P2P) (P2P) Ricochet (P2P) (P2P) Session Signal . VoIP number Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram , voice and video calls, and voice chats in groups Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Registration requirement Independent of mobile phone End-to-end encryption Open source servers Federated servers
Privacy Some messaging services that are not designed for privacy require a unique phone number for sign-up, as a form of identity verification and to prevent users from creating multiple accounts.
Some messaging services that do not solely focus on a mobile-first experience, or enforce SMS authentication, may allow email addresses to be used for sign-up instead.
Some messaging services offer greater flexibility and privacy, by allowing users to create more than one account to compartmentalize personal & work purposes, or not requiring personally identifiable information for sign-up.
To find out if the software has end-to-end encryption, see "media" table below.
Client Share username Hide number Account expiration Reset password Password lockout Search for contacts Voice changer Plugins Briar by public key or in-person pairing Discord Element Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami by random identifier or email-like address Jitsi by shared 4-random-words URL KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Messages (Apple) Messenger Movim Mumble Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Ricochet Signal . Number is only visible if it is saved to a friend's contact 30 seconds after 5 fails Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram 6 months 5 seconds after 3 fails Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Share username Hide number Account expiration Reset password Password lockout Search for contacts Voice changer Plugins 1: Apple iOS doesn't allow screenshot protection.
Screenshot security
Client Hide number in chats Lock screen timeout Lock screen when closed Lock screen button Screenshot detection Screenshot/recording disabled (Android only) Briar Discord Element Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Messages (Apple) Messenger Movim ? Mumble Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Ricochet Signal Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Hide number in chats Lock screen timeout Lock screen when closed Lock screen button Screenshot detection Screenshot/recording disabled (Android only)
Message handling
Client Threads Sent messages Read messages Self-destructing messages Threads CollapseThe Importance of Message Threads in Team Messaging Apps Ignore Editing Deleting Delete for contacts Delete notification Receipts Hide receipts Exists Deletion trigger Briar Briar User Manual Discord Discord Threads FAQ Discord I Want To Leave A Thread Element Introducing Threads in Beta! Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Learn how to manage a space with in-line threading Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami Not applicable Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Organize conversations using Collapsed Reply Threads Messages (Apple) Messenger Facebook Messenger gets threaded replies Movim Movim: a decentralized open-source XMPP-based messaging and social platform Mumble Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Retroshare » Docs » User Guide » Interface Ricochet Signal Read Skype Slack Use threads to organize discussions How to Unfollow Thread in Slack? Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram Bugs and Suggestions » Threads Read Tencent QQ Threema Comparison of Communication Tools for Companies Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Threads Sent messages Read messages Self-destructing messages Threads Collapse Ignore Editing Deleting Delete for contacts Delete notification Receipts Hide receipts Exists Deletion trigger
Media
Client File transfer Voice messages Voice chat Video chat E2EE Encrypted local storage Individual Groups Briar Discord Element Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Plug-in Plug-in Plug-in Messages (Apple) Messenger Movim For private group Mumble Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Ricochet Signal Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client File transfer Voice messages Voice chat Video chat E2EE Encrypted local storage Individual Groups
Backup and restore messages Official status to guarantee support for backing up and restoring messages.
Client Windows macOS Linux Web Android iOS Beeper Briar Discord Element Fractal Gadu-Gadu Gajim Gitter Google Chat Google Messages (RCS) ICQ Jami Jitsi KakaoTalk Kik Messenger Line Linphone Mattermost Messages (Apple) Messenger Mumble Movim Palringo Paltalk Pidgin Psi RetroShare Ricochet Session Signal Skype Slack Snapchat Surespot TeamNote Telegram Tencent QQ Threema Trillian Viber WeChat WhatsApp Wire Client Windows macOS Linux Web Android iOS
Miscellaneous Messaging services can operate around different models, based on security and accessibility considerations.
A mobile-focused, phone number-based model operates on the concept of primary and secondary devices. Examples of such messaging services include: WhatsApp, Viber, Line, WeChat, Signal, etc. The primary device is a mobile phone and is required to login and send/receive messages. Only one mobile phone is allowed to be the primary device, as attempting to login to the messaging app on another mobile phone would trigger the previous phone to be logged out. The secondary device is a computer running a desktop operating system, which serves as a companion for the primary device. Desktop messaging clients on secondary devices do not function independently, as they are reliant on the mobile phone maintaining an active network connection for login authentication and syncing messages.