<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
named	O
Gaim	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
multi-platform	B-Operating_System
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	B-Protocol
,	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
library	B-Library
named	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
that	O
has	O
support	O
for	O
many	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
protocols	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
simultaneously	O
log	B-General_Concept
in	I-General_Concept
to	O
various	O
services	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
application	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
interface	O
for	O
both	O
popular	O
and	O
obsolete	O
protocols	O
(	O
from	O
AIM	O
(	O
software	O
)	O
to	O
Discord	B-Application
)	O
,	O
thus	O
avoiding	O
the	O
hassle	O
of	O
having	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
software	O
for	O
each	O
device	O
and	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
users	O
was	O
estimated	O
to	O
be	O
over	O
three	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
is	O
widely	O
used	O
for	O
its	O
Off-the-Record	B-Protocol
Messaging	I-Protocol
(	O
OTR	O
)	O
plugin	B-Application
,	O
which	O
offers	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
it	O
is	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
privacy	O
-	O
and	O
anonymity-focused	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
Tails	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
originally	O
written	O
by	O
Mark	O
Spencer	O
,	O
an	O
Auburn	O
University	O
sophomore	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
emulation	O
of	O
AOL	O
's	O
IM	O
program	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
on	O
Linux	B-Application
using	O
the	O
GTK+	B-Application
toolkit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
named	O
GAIM	B-Protocol
(	O
GTK+	B-Application
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
)	O
accordingly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
6	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
scored	O
seven	O
out	O
of	O
seven	O
points	O
on	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
's	O
secure	O
messaging	O
scorecard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
have	O
received	O
points	O
for	O
having	O
communications	O
encrypted	O
in	O
transit	O
,	O
having	O
communications	O
encrypted	O
with	O
keys	O
the	O
providers	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
(	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
)	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
possible	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
independently	O
verify	O
their	O
correspondent	O
's	O
identities	O
,	O
having	O
past	O
communications	O
secure	O
if	O
the	O
keys	O
are	O
stolen	O
(	O
forward	O
secrecy	O
)	O
,	O
having	O
their	O
code	O
open	O
to	O
independent	O
review	O
(	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
)	O
,	O
having	O
their	O
security	O
designs	O
well-documented	O
,	O
and	O
having	O
recent	O
independent	O
security	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
pressure	O
from	O
AOL	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
the	O
acronymous-but-lowercase	O
gaim	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
gained	O
popularity	O
,	O
AOL	O
trademarked	O
its	O
acronym	O
,	O
"	O
AIM	O
"	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
a	O
lengthy	O
legal	O
struggle	O
with	O
the	O
creators	O
of	O
GAIM	B-Protocol
,	O
who	O
kept	O
the	O
matter	O
largely	O
secret	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
6	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
project	O
development	O
team	O
announced	O
the	O
results	O
of	O
their	O
settlement	O
with	O
AOL	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
name	O
changes	O
:	O
Gaim	B-Protocol
became	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
,	O
libgaim	B-Protocol
became	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
gaim-text	O
(	O
the	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
version	O
)	O
became	O
Finch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
was	O
chosen	O
in	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
pidgin	B-Protocol
"	O
,	O
which	O
describes	O
communication	O
between	O
people	O
who	O
do	O
not	O
share	O
a	O
common	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
"	O
purple	O
"	O
refers	O
to	O
"	O
prpl	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
internal	O
libgaim	B-Protocol
name	O
for	O
an	O
IM	O
protocol	O
plugin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
settlement	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
first	O
official	O
release	O
of	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
2.0.0	O
was	O
hoped	O
to	O
occur	O
during	O
the	O
two	O
weeks	O
from	O
April	O
8	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
2.0	O
was	O
not	O
released	O
as	O
scheduled	O
;	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
developers	O
announced	O
on	O
April	O
22	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
delay	O
was	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
preferences	O
directory	O
"	O
.gaim	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
2.0.0	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
May	O
3	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
provides	O
a	O
graphical	O
front-end	O
for	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
using	O
GTK+	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Libpurple	B-Protocol
supports	O
many	O
instant-messaging	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
supports	O
multiple	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
many	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
such	O
as	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
the	O
BSDs	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
AmigaOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
included	O
by	O
default	O
in	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
Tails	B-Application
and	O
Xubuntu	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
extended	O
with	O
plugins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plugins	B-Application
are	O
often	O
written	O
by	O
third-party	B-General_Concept
developers	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
add	O
support	O
for	O
protocols	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
useful	O
for	O
those	O
such	O
as	O
Skype	B-Protocol
or	O
Discord	B-Application
which	O
have	O
licensing	O
issues	O
(	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
data	O
and	O
interactions	O
are	O
still	O
subject	O
to	O
their	O
policies	O
and	O
eavesdropping	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Off-the-Record	B-Protocol
Messaging	I-Protocol
"	O
(	O
OTR	O
)	O
plugin	B-Application
provides	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GnuTLS	B-Application
is	O
the	O
default	O
,	O
and	O
NSS	B-Protocol
is	O
also	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
 '	O
ports	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
OpenBSD	B-Operating_System
's	O
,	O
choose	O
to	O
use	O
OpenSSL	B-Language
or	O
LibreSSL	B-Language
by	O
default	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
reach	O
users	O
as	O
they	O
log	O
on	O
or	O
a	O
status	O
change	O
occurs	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
moving	O
from	O
"	O
Away	O
"	O
to	O
"	O
Available	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
supports	O
on-action	O
automated	O
scripts	O
called	O
Buddy	O
Pounces	O
to	O
automatically	O
reach	O
the	O
user	O
in	O
customizable	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
supports	O
file	O
transfers	O
for	O
many	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct	O
,	O
peer-to-peer	O
file	O
transfers	O
are	O
supported	O
over	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
and	O
MSN	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
version	O
2.6	O
(	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
18	O
,	O
2009	O
)	O
,	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
supports	O
voice/video	O
calls	O
using	O
Farstream	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
calls	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
initiated	O
through	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
features	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
themes	O
,	O
emoticons	B-Protocol
,	O
spell	B-Application
checking	I-Application
,	O
and	O
notification	O
area	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
protocols	O
are	O
officially	O
supported	O
by	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
2.14.12	O
,	O
without	O
any	O
extensions	O
or	O
plugins	B-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
servers	O
provide	O
transports	O
,	O
which	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
access	O
networks	O
using	O
non-XMPP	O
protocols	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
install	O
plugins	B-Application
or	O
additional	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
's	O
support	O
for	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
means	O
that	O
these	O
transports	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
communicate	O
via	O
otherwise	O
unsupported	O
protocols	O
,	O
including	O
not	O
only	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
protocols	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
SMS	O
or	O
E-mail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
protocols	O
,	O
supported	O
by	O
third-party	O
plugins	B-Application
,	O
include	O
Discord	B-Application
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	O
OCS/LCS	O
(	O
extended	O
SIP/SIMPLE	O
)	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
QQ	B-Operating_System
,	O
Skype	B-Protocol
via	O
skype4pidgin	O
plugin	B-Application
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Signal	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
other	O
features	O
are	O
supported	O
using	O
third-party	O
plugins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mascot	O
of	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
purple	O
pigeon	O
with	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
Pidgy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
observed	O
by	O
Wired	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
codebase	O
is	O
"	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
bountiful	O
security	O
bugs	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
security	O
vulnerabilities	O
were	O
already	O
discovered	O
in	O
popular	O
OTR	O
plugins	B-Application
using	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
fork	B-Application
,	O
Carrier	O
(	O
originally	O
named	O
Funpidgin	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
3.0	O
of	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
(	O
no	O
announced	O
release	O
date	O
)	O
will	O
support	O
password	O
storage	O
in	O
system	O
keyrings	O
such	O
as	O
KWallet	B-Language
and	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
Keyring	I-Application
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Keychain	B-Application
for	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
winCred	O
API	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
does	O
not	O
currently	O
support	O
pausing	O
or	O
reattempting	O
file	O
transfers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pidgin	B-Protocol
does	O
not	O
allow	O
disabling	O
the	O
group	O
sorting	O
on	O
the	O
contact	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
QuteCom	B-Protocol
(	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
,	O
focused	O
on	O
VoIP	O
and	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitlBee	B-Protocol
and	O
Minbif	O
are	O
IRCd-like	O
gateways	O
to	O
multiple	O
IM	O
networks	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
compiled	O
with	O
libpurple	B-Protocol
to	O
increase	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
