Popular instant messaging service ICQ to shut down after 28 years
The iconic instant messaging platform ICQ has declared that it will cease operations permanently in June.
A brief notice on its website reads, “ICQ will stop functioning from June 26,” offering no further details, and recommends VK Messenger as a substitute.
That being said, the official account posted a GIF on X on May 24, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator” with the caption “I’ll be back.” This was their first post since 2022.
— ICQ New (@ICQ) May 24, 2024
ICQ, which stands for “I Seek You” and was launched in 1996, had nine million users and 2.5 million daily active users at its peak. The number was considered remarkable given that users relied on dial-up connections.
AOL purchased the company from Israeli developer Mirabilis in 1998 for $407 million, creating competition in the messaging market as Yahoo! and Microsoft launched their own services. Despite operating independently from AOL and facing issues with problematic users, ICQ managed to amass 100 million users.
However, with the decline of dial-up Internet and the emergence of new competitors, ICQ’s popularity dwindled.
In 2010, the Russian company Mail.Ru, which later rebranded as VK, acquired ICQ due to its popularity in Russia and planned to update the app for cross-platform use.
As of a March 2023 snapshot from the Internet Archive, the updated version of ICQ functioned similarly to other messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. However, the app is no longer available in Apple’s App Store or on Google’s Play Store.
Supporters are calling for the return of ICQ
Following the announcement, users expressed their support for the service on X, with some saying they have been using the program “religiously” for decades. Others shared stories of meeting their significant others through ICQ.
Please don't end, I have religiously used this program since 1998 </3
— Josiah crossman (@UncleRectus) May 25, 2024
I met my wife on ICQ the mid 1990’s. Me Seattle, she Zürich. It had been a business inquiry.
We stayed in touch via icq and phone.
In 2003 I flew out to meet her in person. We fell in love. I returned to Zürich and married her 27 July 2007 (27.07.2007)
We’ve never parted since.— Ministry of Truth (@Truth_Reports_) May 24, 2024
A new version of the program was launched in 2020, but it appeared to have been neglected in the years since. According to a Techspot report, the most recent stable desktop version was released in April 2023, while the mobile versions have been discontinued in favor of the current owner VK’s own messaging system.
Featured image: Ideogram
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