Announcement from the owner of Mail.ru about the termination of the messaging program termination of support
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Although you probably haven't thought about it for years, the first mainstream universal messaging app for the Mac and virtually every other platform will finally be retired entirely in June 2024.
Twenty-eight years have passed. It will take a long time for a network application to survive. For many early Internet users, ICQ — “I'm looking for you” — was their introduction to large-scale social and private communication in real time.
Launched in November 1996, it provided users with a simpler, more graphical application to communicate with friends outside of the previous Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system, as well as AOL Messenger, which was still limited to the service of the same name.
However, more about AOL a little later.
ICQ applications were initially available for Windows, Linux and Mac users. It quickly spread to other platforms such as the Palm Pilot and the first smartphones when they came out.
The software was completely free to download and use, and until 2003 there were no advertisements.
The Rise and Fall of ICQ
The program's popularity prompted the nascent America Online service to buy it in 1998 for a total of $407 million. This allowed AOL to acquire patents on this technology and use it to develop its own AOL Instant Messenger program.
ichat (now messages) was inspired by ICQ and its competitors. p>
At its peak, ICQ had about 100 million active users. It was later replaced by AOL IM, MSN Messenger, Google Talk and other chat applications.
In its heyday, the service was so popular that the original version of Messages for Mac in 2002, then known as iChat, allowed the use of an ICQ User Identification Number (UIN) to add compatibility with AOL Instant Messenger.
In 2010, the technology was sold to Digital Sky Technologies, which later changed its name to Mail.ru. The Russian company continues to support ICQ, primarily in the form of an application for smartphones.
Its core user base is now around 11 million active users, mostly from Russia.
In 2020, Mail.ru announced a new version, called “ICQ New,” in an effort to attract new users. As its popularity declined, the program began to be used more often for illegal file sharing due to the company's lack of moderation and automatic filters.
On May 24, 2024, Mail.ru announced the closure of the ICQ service and website from June 26, 2024. The company recommended that users switch to another chat application – VK Messenger. .
However, for most AppleInsider readers this may be difficult. The company is blocking most of the US. Locations in Canada and the UK
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