In a bittersweet announcement, the first mainstream universal messenger app, ICQ, is set to retire in June 2024. After 28 remarkable years, the platform that introduced many early internet users to real-time chatting will finally go offline.
Launched in November 1996, ICQ—short for "I Seek You"—revolutionized online communication by offering a simpler, more graphical alternative to the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system and the limited AOL Messenger. Initially available on Windows, Linux, and Mac, ICQ rapidly expanded to other platforms, including the Palm Pilot and early smartphones.
The Rise and Fall of ICQ ICQ's meteoric rise caught the attention of America Online (AOL), which acquired the service in 1998 for $407 million. This acquisition helped AOL develop its own AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), though AIM itself was eventually shut down in 2017. At its zenith, ICQ boasted around 100 million active users, only to be later eclipsed by newer chat applications like MSN Messenger, Google Talk, and others.
In 2010, the technology behind ICQ was sold to Digital Sky Technologies, later known as Mail.ru, which continued to operate ICQ primarily as a smartphone app. Despite its waning global popularity, ICQ maintained a loyal user base of approximately 11 million active users, mostly in Russia.
In an effort to revitalize the platform, Mail.ru launched "ICQ New" in 2020, but the app increasingly became a haven for illegal file sharing due to its lack of moderation. Ultimately, Mail.ru announced on May 24, 2024, that ICQ would be shutting down on June 26, 2024. The company has encouraged its remaining users to transition to VK Messenger, another of its chat services.
As we bid farewell to ICQ, we reflect on its pioneering role in digital communication and the indelible mark it left on the internet landscape.
