Ferdi

Today we have an astounding array of applications, especially when it comes to instant messaging. And it often happens to not always have all our contacts in the same place.

Some may use WhatsApp, some will be on Facebook Messenger, others on Skype, Hangouts, WeChat, Telegram and so on. Too many contacts spread out across way too many apps. What should we do in this case? Start discarding some of the apps or delete some of our contacts?

But what if we can have all the apps combined into a single program, that allows us to enjoy every service from one place? That is indeed possible with Ferdi, an application that is built on Franz, which is a messaging browser already used by many people.

After you install it on your computer, you are prompted to add your favorite communication apps from the available list of services. There, you will find almost all the existing applications for messaging. But in case there is one missing, you can add it as a custom service as well.

For each service you add to your account, you can customize various functions. You can enable notifications, add badges for unread messages, and even add a custom icon.

You can add as many communication services as you want, and as many times you want, without being restricted. With Ferdi, if you don't trust third-parties to store your information, you are allowed to set up your own server, but for that, you need at least minimal hardware knowledge.

The usefulness of this application comes from the fact that it lets you sync your services between devices if you log in with a Ferdi account. You also have the option to use the app without an account so that your data cannot travel to external servers if you don't want that.

You can also set Ferdi to notify you about new messages without revealing their content, to protect your message information. Or you can simply use the Ferdi Lock feature, which will secure your messages by locking them with a password.

From quick-switch keyboard shortcuts to scheduled timeframes in which you can set the program to not allow any notifications, Ferdi could become something almost indispensable for those who use a lot of messaging services and want, or need, to keep using them all but from a single, and easily accessible, place.