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6.0

34 Votes

  • Category Instant Messaging
  • Program license Free
  • Version 1.4.3.12
  • Size 11.25 MB
  • Works under: Windows 10
  • Program available in English
  • Program by Imo

Imo is an instant messaging program that lets you connect across many different services.

If you’re looking for an instant messaging or IM app for Windows that can handle almost any messaging service, then Imo is a strong option. Adding an IM account is as simple as providing Imo your username and password for that service. You’ll now have access to that account’s settings and contacts, get messages received on that service through Imo and be able to send messages over that service from Imo.

Imo is not limited to just text chat. It supports voice chat, and while the VoIP quality isn’t on the level of Skype or other dedicated solutions, it’s good enough for a brief conversation. In addition, Imo supports video chat, and it can access webcams and other devices that provide a video source. Again, the quality is solid, and performance is stable, which makes Imo a convenient video chat option.

Imo is not an IM service itself. Instead, it lets you communicate across a wide range of text and video IM services, including AIM, Facebook and Steam. You may have family, friends and acquaintances using a wide range of different messaging solutions, and by using Imo, you’ll get the message from grandma using Facebook and the message from your buddy on Steam who wants to team up for a game.

Perhaps the biggest limitation of Imo is that it doesn’t support group chat across more than one service, which is a feature many of the popular third-party IM apps do support. A group chat is any chat involving three or more people. If you’re chatting with one friend on Skype, then adding a third person to that conversation would require them to be on Skype as well. In addition, Imo doesn’t merge your contacts, so you have to maintain separate contact books for each service.

One way that Imo distinguishes itself is by providing the option to meet new people. This is a feature that many IM apps have abandoned, but with Imo, you can meet individuals or even join chat groups. These chat groups are a lot like the chat rooms that were so popular in the earlier days of the Internet.

The UI is a bit basic. That’s not an issue if you just want a messaging tool that gets the job done. A lot of modern third-party IM apps, however, provide many features and customization options that differentiate them from the first-party options, but you won’t find that here. Additionally, media sharing is a bit limited, and even sharing a simple image can be a bit of a chore at times.

Pros

  • Simple yet highly functional
  • Supports webcams
  • Supports many IM protocols

Cons

  • Sharing media is limited
  • No group chat across protocols
  • Contact lists are service-independent
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