Empathy is an instant messaging (IM) and voice over IP (VoIP) client which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over various IM protocols. Developed by The GNOME Project
License: Open Source
Google Allo offers a user-friendly experience with integration into Google services and strong multimedia support, but lacks privacy features like end-to-end encryption. Empathy, on the other hand, prioritizes user privacy with encryption and customization options but sacrifices some multimedia features and mainstream recognition.