Pidgin is back, so let's talk about why a local chat client matters

In the 2020s you might be forgiven for having forgotten that such a thing as a native chat client exists, but a handful still do and they're still useful. One of these is Pidgin, the artist formerly known as GAIM.

It is still around and still works with a surprising number of protocols – and after the current, second alpha version, Pidgin 3 itself will soon arrive. The thing is, it has been coming for a long time now – the project has been underway for about 16 years.

Project lead Gary Kramlich announced the new version last November. This was followed by a first preview release, numbered 2.90 on the first day of 2025. At the start of this month, the second preview release appeared, with a preliminary version number of 2.91.