Tox

Tox is a multi-platform, completely free, ad free and open source software project designed from the ground up to act as a very secure instant messenger client for GNU/Linux, Android, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

It protects you from government monitoring programs

The best feature of this application is its ability to dodge various government monitoring programs, keeping users’ identity protected at all times. You don’t have to sign up for an account, just open the application and send messages to other Tox users by using unique IDs generated automatically when the program starts.

Supports voice and video chat, as well as text messaging

The application allows the user to chat with friends and family in a safe and secure environment. It supports instant messaging, video conferencing, group chat, as well as free Tox to Tox calls.

Uses leading-class encryption

While trying to protect its users from the interference with the NSA, the application uses leading-class encryption for securing your conversations. It’s extremely easy to use and doesn’t require any initial configuration.

Supports various GNU/Linux operating systems

Tox is officially supported on any GNU/Linux operating system that uses the DEB or RPM file format, such as Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Linux Mint, Fedora or CentOS.

In addition, it can be downloaded on any other distribution of Linux as binary archives, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit hardware platforms. The source code can be easily grabbed from the project’s GitHub page.

It’s a cross-platform application written in C

As more and more government monitoring programs arise without you knowing it, Tox will definitely become one of the most used instant messaging solution for Linux, BSD, Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. It is written entirely in the C programming language.