Instant messaging - Revision history

Eskimo: Erased outdated information about ICQ and AIM, added new info

2025-06-09T15:49:41Z

Erased outdated information about ICQ and AIM, added new info

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:49, 9 June 2025
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	==General overview==		==General overview==

	Instant messaging is a technology through which a person can send short text messages to others on the same computer or over a computer network. The recipients receive the message instantly and can send a reply right away or at a more convenient time. IM is therefore a powerful middle ground between [[Email_security\|e-mail]] and real-time chat systems.		Instant messaging is a technology through which a person can send short text messages to others on the same computer or over a computer network. The recipients receive the message instantly and can send a reply right away or at a more convenient time. IM is therefore a powerful middle ground between [[Email_security\|e-mail]] and real-time chat systems. With most IM networks, users connect to a centralized IM server with an instant-messaging client. They sign in with a login id and a password, and the network sends the online status of everyone on the user's contact list and alerts others of the user's online status. Once connected, the user may send messages to others on the same IM network via the centralized server. Many IM clients and networks include advanced functions, like graphical emoticons integrated in the text, offline messages that are held by the server until the recipient signs in, file transfers, and video and voice chat.

	With most IM networks, users connect to a centralized IM server with an instant-messaging client. They sign in with a login id and a password, and the network sends the online status of everyone on the user's contact list and alerts others of the user's online status. Once connected, the user may send messages to others on the same IM network via the centralized server.		Most IM networks are incompatible with others. Proprietary networks have a vested interest in keeping their networks closed and users are encouraged to give out personal details for companies to data mine them and sell their data, people who care about privacy should skip the major messenger networks and download privacy focused IM messengers designed to collect as little data as possible from users, you should aim for software that has end to end encrypted communication, does not require you to enter a phone number or email for registration, and does not keep connection logs. You should mitigate risks by using untraceable email addresses when asked for one and hiding your IP behind a VPN or Tor when opening an account.

	~~There are several major IM networks in use today: AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Google HangOuts, ICQ, Jabber, Skype, Yahoo! Messenger~~

	Most IM networks are incompatible with others. ~~Although AIM and ICQ users can see each others' status and send messages to each other, interoperability is otherwise non-existent.~~ Proprietary networks have a vested interest in keeping their networks closed~~. This led to the rise of multi-network clients, such as Pidgin~~ and ~~Trillian. These clients allow~~ users to ~~connect~~ to ~~more than one IM network at once instead of running each official client separately. A user must still register with~~ and ~~sign in to each individual IM network~~, ~~but can message his friends on various~~ networks ~~using a common interface, which may or may not have more features (such~~ as ~~spell checking) than the official clients.~~

	~~Many IM clients and networks also presently include more advanced functions~~, ~~like graphical emoticons integrated in the text, offline messages~~ that ~~are held by the server until the recipient signs in~~, ~~file transfers~~, and ~~video~~ and ~~voice chat~~.

	==Instant messaging in the boylove community==		==Instant messaging in the boylove community==

Eskimo: /* Security */

2025-06-09T15:06:18Z

Security

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:06, 9 June 2025
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	The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.		The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.

	One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to his account, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, after that the FBI asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire after Spanish police using a mutual legal assistance treaty requested this Swiss messaging company the registration email address the activist had used to open the IM account followed by a subpoena to the e-mail company ~~on file~~ demanding the login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>		One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to his account, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, after that the FBI asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire after Spanish police using a mutual legal assistance treaty requested this Swiss messaging company the registration email address the activist had used to open the IM account followed by a subpoena to the e-mail company Wire facilitated demanding the login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>

	== References ==		== References ==

Eskimo: security section small improvement

2025-06-09T15:05:21Z

security section small improvement

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:05, 9 June 2025
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	The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.		The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.

	One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to his account, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, after that the FBI asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire ~~by traced by~~ Spanish police ~~requesting the~~ messaging company the registration email address he had used to open the account ~~and subpoenaing that~~ e-mail company ~~for his~~ login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>		One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to his account, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, after that the FBI asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire after Spanish police using a mutual legal assistance treaty requested this Swiss messaging company the registration email address the activist had used to open the IM account followed by a subpoena to the e-mail company on file demanding the login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>

	== References ==		== References ==

Eskimo: /* Security */

2025-06-09T15:02:36Z

Security

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 9 June 2025
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	The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.		The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.

	One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to ~~this user~~, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, ~~and~~ after that ~~they~~ asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire by traced by Spanish police requesting the messaging company the registration email address he had used to open the account and subpoenaing that e-mail company for his login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>		One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to his account, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, after that the FBI asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire by traced by Spanish police requesting the messaging company the registration email address he had used to open the account and subpoenaing that e-mail company for his login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>

	== References ==		== References ==

Eskimo: added info about Wire messenger

2025-06-09T15:00:38Z

added info about Wire messenger

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:00, 9 June 2025
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	The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.		The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.

	One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to this user, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, and after that they asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref>		One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to this user, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, and after that they asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref> Another user, a suspected Catalan independence activist was traced using secure instant messenger Wire by traced by Spanish police requesting the messaging company the registration email address he had used to open the account and subpoenaing that e-mail company for his login IP address. <ref>Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identify activist: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/ </ref>

	== References ==		== References ==

Eskimo: re-arranged links by relevancy

2025-06-09T14:56:29Z

re-arranged links by relevancy

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:56, 9 June 2025
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	* [https://simplex.chat/ Simplex IM] - Secure messenger that does not require phone number or ID		* [https://simplex.chat/ Simplex IM] - Secure messenger that does not require phone number or ID
			* [https://teleguard.com/ Teleguard] - Swiss based messenger that does nor require a phone number
	* [https://briarproject.org/ Briar IM] - Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer messaging that bypasses centralized servers		* [https://briarproject.org/ Briar IM] - Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer messaging that bypasses centralized servers
	* [https://teleguard.com/ Teleguard] - Swiss based messenger that does nor require a phone number

	[[Category:Technology]]		[[Category:Technology]]

Eskimo: Rewrite of the security section of Instant messaging because it was out of date

2025-06-09T14:55:34Z

Rewrite of the security section of Instant messaging because it was out of date

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:55, 9 June 2025
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	==Security==		==Security==

	~~Most~~ IM ~~networks use chat servers~~ to ~~store contact lists~~ and ~~relay IMs~~, ~~which are sent in plain text. This means~~ that ~~the owners of~~ the IM networks know who is talking to whom, and ~~what~~ is ~~said~~. ~~Certain networks (~~such as ~~AIM) allow~~ a ~~user to directly connect to another user~~, ~~bypassing~~ the ~~central servers~~, ~~but this reveals~~ the ~~users' IP addresses~~ to ~~one another. Some~~ third-party ~~clients offer client-~~to-~~client [[encryption]], meaning~~ the ~~server owners will no longer be able~~ to ~~read~~ the ~~messages exchanged. Users should still consider that their~~ IM ~~clients can theoretically be compromised, for example~~ by ~~a virus, into revealing~~ the user~~'s IP address and other sensitive data. All~~ the ~~usual precautions regarding safety and [[anonymity]] (running an~~ up~~-to-date system~~, ~~antivirus~~ and ~~so on) should be considered~~.		Instant messengers enable real-time communication with other Internet users, the main privacy danger to users comes from the owners of the IM server/network owner, instant messaging companies like Kik, SnapChat and Skype they all scan the files you send to detect child porn and they could be forced to scan for anything else they want, another privacy danger is that the IM networks know who is talking to whom, they log IPs and ask for a phone number or email address for registration, all of this is kept on file and they have been known to be used to track down users.

			The instant messengers listed below do a best effort to keep your online activities anonymous and private but you should combine them with common sense and other privacy technologies such as VPNs, Tor and encryption so that if one safety measure fails you have a second back up safety measure that will stop an attacker and remember that there are things that an IM can not protect you from, yourself, you never know who is behind the keyboard at the other end, they could send you a virus or their computer could fall in the wrong hands one day and your private chat be visible to a third party if that were to happen you will be happy during that conversation your IP was hidden or the message was set to self-destruct.

			One such example of user privacy compromised despite using a very secure instant messenger was when the FBI managed to deanonymize a child abuser using the encrypted Teleguard IM by forcing this Swiss company to hand over the push alert code sent to this user, push alerts are the pop-up notifications announcing new instant messages updates, and after that they asked Google to hand over a list of email addresses linked to that code. <ref> The FBI’s new tactic: Catching suspects with push alerts: https://web.archive.org/web/20240301075856/http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/29/push-notification-surveillance-fbi/ </ref>

			== References ==

			{{reflist}}

	==External links==		==External links==

Eskimo: /* Security */

2025-06-04T14:32:32Z

Security

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 4 June 2025
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	==Security==		==Security==

	Most IM networks use chat servers to store contact lists and relay IMs, which are sent in plain text. This means that the owners of the IM networks know who is talking to whom, and what is said. Certain networks (such as AIM) allow a user to directly connect to another user, bypassing the central servers, but this reveals the users' IP addresses to one another. Some third-party clients offer client-to-client [[encryption]], meaning the server owners will no longer be able to read the messages exchanged. Users should still consider that their IM clients can theoretically be compromised, for example by a virus, into revealing the user's [[IP address]] and other sensitive data. All the usual precautions regarding safety and [[anonymity]] (running an up-to-date system, antivirus and so on) should be considered.		Most IM networks use chat servers to store contact lists and relay IMs, which are sent in plain text. This means that the owners of the IM networks know who is talking to whom, and what is said. Certain networks (such as AIM) allow a user to directly connect to another user, bypassing the central servers, but this reveals the users' IP addresses to one another. Some third-party clients offer client-to-client [[encryption]], meaning the server owners will no longer be able to read the messages exchanged. Users should still consider that their IM clients can theoretically be compromised, for example by a virus, into revealing the user's IP address and other sensitive data. All the usual precautions regarding safety and [[anonymity]] (running an up-to-date system, antivirus and so on) should be considered.

	==External links==		==External links==

Eskimo: Updated links to more modern anonymous messengers

2025-06-04T14:27:19Z

Updated links to more modern anonymous messengers

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:27, 4 June 2025
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	==External links==		==External links==

	* [https://~~www~~.~~jabber~~.org/ ~~Jabber~~] ~~IM service based on XMPP~~		* [https://simplex.chat/ Simplex IM] - Secure messenger that does not require phone number or ID
	* [https://~~threema~~.ch/~~en Threema~~] - ~~Encrypted~~ messenger that does ~~not need~~ a phone number ~~for registration~~		* [https://briarproject.org/ Briar IM] - Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer messaging that bypasses centralized servers
			* [https://teleguard.com/ Teleguard] - Swiss based messenger that does nor require a phone number

	[[Category:Technology]]		[[Category:Technology]]

Eskimo: Removed Element messenger link as it was outdated, ownership change

2025-01-09T06:42:18Z

Removed Element messenger link as it was outdated, ownership change

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:42, 9 January 2025
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	* [https://www.jabber.org/ Jabber] IM service based on XMPP		* [https://www.jabber.org/ Jabber] IM service based on XMPP
	* [https://element.io/ Element Securechat] Personal messenger running on the Matrix network
	* [https://threema.ch/en Threema] - Encrypted messenger that does not need a phone number for registration		* [https://threema.ch/en Threema] - Encrypted messenger that does not need a phone number for registration

	[[Category:Technology]]		[[Category:Technology]]