Ricochet

If you value your online privacy more than anything, especially when chatting with your friends or colleagues, you might want to try an instant messenger that focuses specifically on keeping you secure. Ricochet is such a solution as it draws on the strength of the Tor network.

Before you get to access the main window of the app, you need to connect to the Tor network - this can be done directly, or you can configure the settings accordingly.

The functions are neatly organized within a user-friendly interface where all your online and offline contacts are displayed. Just like any other IM client, you can send and receive messages with ease (though it does not feature support for file transfers or emoticons).

When dealing with URLs, you can either copy the link or set it to automatically open in your default browser.

When you want to add a new contact to your list, you need to enter their Ricochet ID. Unlike traditional instant messengers, you do not get to choose your ID, since it is automatically generated by your PC.

Considering any ID is a string of letters and numbers, nobody can tell who you are chatting with, especially if you assigned them a cryptic screen name as well. This way, your privacy is protected, and no IP, location data or personal info will be exposed.

Ricochet comes in handy when you do not trust any messaging server with your data and are looking to hide any identifiable information during chats.

Despite its increased security, it is still intuitive enough to be used by novices as well as experts, so it is a win-win for everybody. It might not be as feature-packed as some other IM clients available out there, yet it does its job without any fuss.