Empathy (software)
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Instant messaging, Voice over IP |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Products | Instant messaging client, VoIP client |
Empathy was an instant messaging (IM) and voice over IP (VoIP) application that has since been discontinued. It supported a range of communication methods including text messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, and inter-application messaging across various IM protocols.
The project began as a derivative of the Gossip client, initiated by Xavier Claessens following disputes regarding backend technology choices. Originally built exclusively on the XMPP protocol, Empathy later transitioned to the Telepathy framework to enable unified access to multiple IM networks.
Empathy provided reusable graphical user interface components designed to facilitate the development of IM clients within the GNOME desktop environment. As a Telepathy extension, it delivered a standardized interface for handling diverse messaging protocols seamlessly.
The initial release, version 0.12, appeared in 2007. Empathy has been part of GNOME since version 2.24 and was adopted as the default messaging client in Linux distributions such as Ubuntu (starting with 9.10 Karmic Koala) and Fedora (beginning with version 12 Constantine), where it supplanted Pidgin.
Development efforts by the GNOME team have ended, officially marking Empathy as a discontinued software project.
Features
Empathy utilizes the Telepathy framework to support multiple protocols including XMPP—covering services like Facebook IM, Google Talk, and Jabber servers such as Gizmo5, LiveJournal Talk, and Nokia Ovi. It also supports link-local XMPP via salut for nearby peer discovery, MSNP used by MSN Messenger/Windows Live Messenger, IRC, and SIP. Further protocol compatibility is achieved through the libpurple plugin, enabling connections to networks including OSCAR (AIM, ICQ, MobileMe), Bonjour, MySpaceIM, QQ, MXit, Novell GroupWise, YMSG, Gadu-Gadu, and Lotus Sametime, among others.
Automatic functionalities encompass auto away and extended away statuses linked with gnome-screensaver activity, alongside auto re-connect capabilities managed through NetworkManager. Both individual and group conversations support emoticons and spell-checking features. Chat windows can be customized with themes, saved logs, searchable histories, and new messages can be prefixed for clarity.
Additional features relevant to business use include:
- Voice and video calling over SIP, MSNP, and XMPP protocols (including Google Talk voice calls)
- File transfers within XMPP
- Contact location tracking with integrated map visualization
- Python API bindings for Telepathy
- Collaborative sessions via Tubes
- Desktop sharing with remote control functionality
- Seamless Google Talk account setup through GNOME Online Accounts
Reception
In March 2009, Ryan Paul from Ars Technica praised Empathy’s modular architecture, its video chat support, and integration with the desktop environment but remarked that it remained somewhat unpolished and had yet to be adopted by major Linux distributions.
Following Empathy’s replacement of Pidgin in Ubuntu 9.10 by November 2009, Paul acknowledged progress but reported ongoing stability issues and crashes during his assessments, suggesting it was primarily suitable for basic messaging tasks. Igor Ljubunčić criticized this transition for diminishing protocol support. Adam Overa of Tom's Hardware referred to the switch from Pidgin to Empathy as "probably the most controversial change in Ubuntu 9.10," noting it sparked considerable discussion among users and developers alike.
In 2010, Rodney Gedda of Computerworld identified Empathy as one of "5 open source VoIP softphones to watch," highlighting its emerging significance in the VoIP sector.
Security
In contrast to messaging clients that incorporate Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR), Empathy does not include integrated privacy or security mechanisms enforced at the technical level. The development team has not prioritized the integration of OTR but remains receptive to adopting encryption protocols at the protocol level in the future.
See also
- Comparison of instant messaging clients
- Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
- Comparison of VoIP software
External links
- Articles with short description
- Defunct instant messaging clients
- Discontinued software
- 2003 software
- Applications using D-Bus
- Free instant messaging clients
- Free IRC clients
- Free software programmed in C
- Free VoIP software
- GNOME Applications
- Instant messaging clients that use GTK
- Unix IRC clients
- Videotelephony
- Voice over IP clients that use GTK
- Yahoo! instant messaging clients