This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Pidgin instant messaging client, so far it’s v2.14.1, in Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 18.04.

Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AIM, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in an IRC chat room all at the same time.

While the software package in Ubuntu universe repository is always old. The latest release now is Pidgin 2.14.1, which can be installed via Flatpak package from flathub repository.

How to Install Pidgin 2.14.1 in Ubuntu:

1. Setup Flatpak framework in Ubuntu:

First open terminal from system application launcher. When it opens, run command to install flatpak:

sudo apt install flatpak

Then add the flathub repository by running command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

2. Install the Pidgin flatpak package:

To install the package, run command in terminal:

flatpak install flathub im.pidgin.Pidgin

To update the Pidgin flatpak package, run command:

flatpak update im.pidgin.Pidgin

Once installed, you can launch the IM from ‘Show Applications’ menu and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To uninstall Pidgin flatpak package, run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall im.pidgin.Pidgin

This quick tutorial shows how to install the latest Pidgin internet messenger 2.13.0 in Ubuntu 18.04.

Pidgin 2.13.0 was released a few months ago with better support for dark themes and various bug-fixes. While Ubuntu 18.04 ships with an old version in its main repository, you can install or upgrade to Pidgin 2.13.0 via this unofficial PPA.

The PPA packages also contain an IRC connection flood patch for this bug.

Install Pidgin 2.13.0 via PPA in Ubuntu 18.04:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kip/pidgin

Type your user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.

Then you can upgrade the internet messenger via Software Updater:

or run command in terminal to install Pidgin 2.13.0:

sudo apt-get install pidgin

Uninstall:

For any reason you can easily purge the PPA which also downgrade Pidgin to the stock version in Ubuntu 18.04 repository:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kip/pidgin

The Pidgin internet messenger 2.12 was released a few days ago on last Thursday. Here’s how to install it via PPA in Ubuntu 16.04.

After 9 months of development, Pidgin 2.12 brings following changes:

• Fix an out of bounds memory read in purple_markup_unescape_entity
• Fix use of uninitialised memory if running non-debug-enabled versions of glib
• Updated AIM dev and dist ID’s to new ones that were assigned by AOL.
• TLS certificate verification now uses SHA-256 checksums.
• Fixed SASL external auth for Freenode.
• Removed the protocol plugin: MSN, Mxit, MySpaceIM, Yahoo!, Facebook (XMPP)
• Fixed gnutls certificate validation errors that mainly affected google (Dequis)
• Replaced instances of d.pidgin.im with developer.pidgin.im and updated the urls to use https.
• Fixed issue of messages being silently cut off at 500 characters.

How to Install Pidgin 2.12 in Ubuntu 16.04, Linux Mint 18

The official Pidgin PPA was dropped years ago. Besides building the new release from source, you can use this third-party PPA

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonathonf/backports

2. Then launch Software Updater and you’ll see Pidgin 2.12 available for upgrade:

Or you can run command to install / upgrade the messenger:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install pidgin

Finally restart your computer to apply changes.

How to Restore:

To restore Pidgin to the stock version (2.10.12) in Ubuntu 16.04, run command to purge the PPA via ppa-pure tool:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:jonathonf/backports

If you want to keep the Pidgin 2.12 in your system, you may also remove the PPA since it contains various other (low impact) packages, either via Software & Updates -> Other Software tab or by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:jonathonf/backports