<div class="note">

</div>

Even though *Pidgin* supports other protocols, it is only possible to use IRC and XMPP with *Pidgin* in Tails for security reasons.

For more documentation, visit the official [*Pidgin* FAQ](https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/Using%20Pidgin).

<h1 id="otr">OTR encryption</h1>

[OTR (Off-the-Record)](https://otr.cypherpunks.ca/) encryption allows you to have private conversations over instant messaging by providing:

No one else can read your instant messages.

You are assured the correspondent is who you think it is.

The messages you send do not have digital signatures
that are checkable by a third party. Anyone can forge messages after
a conversation to make them look like they came from you.
However, during a conversation, your correspondent is assured
the messages are authentic and unmodified.

If you lose control of your private keys, no previous conversation is compromised.

<div class="caution">

<div class="tip">

<p>To store your OTR keys and <i>Pidgin</i> settings across different Tails sessions,
you can turn on the [[Pidgin Internet Messenger|persistent_storage/configure#pidgin]]
feature of the Persistent Storage.</p>

<p>In a private OTR conversation over IRC, a message sent using the
<code>/me</code> command is not encrypted. The person receiving
the message is notified by a warning.</p>

IRC servers blocking Tor