<s>
Secure	B-Application
instant	I-Application
messaging	I-Application
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
can	O
be	O
compared	O
to	O
texting	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
making	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
call	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Secure	B-Application
instant	I-Application
messaging	I-Application
is	O
a	O
specialized	O
form	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
that	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
differences	O
,	O
encrypts	O
and	O
decrypts	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
the	O
messages	O
such	O
that	O
only	O
the	O
actual	O
users	O
can	O
understand	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
has	O
existed	O
in	O
some	O
form	O
or	O
another	O
for	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
the	O
past	O
few	O
years	O
,	O
two	O
distinct	O
settings	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
have	O
evolved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
non-organizational	O
use	O
instant	B-Application
messengers	I-Application
advertise	O
their	O
availability	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
at	O
large	O
so	O
that	O
others	O
may	O
know	O
if	O
that	O
person	O
is	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
trend	O
has	O
been	O
too	O
that	O
manufacturers	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
clients	O
offer	O
interoperability	O
with	O
other	O
manufacturer	O
's	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatibility	O
between	O
clients	O
is	O
likely	O
to	O
become	O
almost	O
universal	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
unified	O
messenger	O
protocol	O
(	O
the	O
Extensible	B-Protocol
Messaging	I-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
Presence	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
)	O
)	O
is	O
being	O
adopted	O
by	O
more	O
and	O
more	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
formalized	O
by	O
the	O
Internet	O
Engineering	O
Task	O
Force	O
as	O
RFC	O
6120	O
,	O
RFC	O
6121	O
and	O
RFC	O
6122	O
which	O
will	O
further	O
the	O
trend	O
towards	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
standardization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
listed	O
seven	O
traits	O
that	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messengers	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
open	O
to	O
independent	O
review	O
(	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messengers	I-Application
may	O
further	O
be	O
improved	O
if	O
they	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Do	O
not	O
rely	O
on	O
a	O
central	O
authority	O
for	O
the	O
relaying	O
of	O
messages	O
(	O
decentralized	B-Operating_System
computing	I-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
