Linphone: Video and instant messaging
Official website linphone.org
Our take
A long-running SIP client with encryption, which makes it a solid pick if you specifically want a standards-based VoIP and messaging tool rather than a walled-garden app. That same SIP heritage is the catch: it assumes you understand accounts and providers, so it is not the friendliest first messenger. Choose it for interoperable encrypted calling; look elsewhere for a one-tap consumer experience.
GitHub at a glance
BelledonneCommunications/linphone-desktop
Stars
489
+ 2 this week
Last commit
1d ago
healthy
License
GPL-3.0
Stars, last 10d
Listed in
Linphone alternatives
Signal Similar look and feel of WhatsApp and other commonly used messaging apps, makes switching easy. Signal requires your phone number as an personal identifier.
SimpleX Chat Decentralized messenger that assigns no identifier to users, not even a random number. Contacts are established via one-time invite links or QR codes, with all data stored on-device only.
Session No phone number or email address is required to signup. Similar functionality like Element, but still in an earlier stage of development. Decentralized servers routed through…
Status No phone number or email address is required to signup. Uses the peer-to-peer (p2p) messaging protocol Waku that removes centralized third parties from messages.
Threema No native desktop apps available yet, but there is a web version for your browser. No phone number is required to signup but there is a payment involved to get the app.…
Molly Hardened fork of Signal for Android that adds an encrypted local database, automatic RAM wiping on lock, and Tor/SOCKS proxy support via Orbot. Ships in two variants: one with FCM push and one fully FOSS without Google.
Linphone license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.