A Fond Farewell to ICQ
In a succinct announcement that is bound to evoke nostalgia, VK, the Russian company that has been the caretaker of ICQ since 2010, declared the end of an era. On a somber note, they stated, “ICQ will stop working from June 26th,” urging the community to transition to their other messaging platforms.
ICQ carved out a unique place in the digital landscape as an early pioneer among instant messaging services. Unlike its contemporaries such as AOL Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger, ICQ assigned unique numbers to users instead of aliases or email addresses. This quirky messenger was also known for its SMS messaging capabilities and the ability to send notes to offline contacts.
Those who remember the platform with fondness may recall the iconic “Uh oh!” sound notification—a distinctive alert for incoming messages that became synonymous with the ICQ experience.
ICQ, apparently in its final form on iOS.Screenshot: The Internet Archive
ICQ’s journey began in 1996, created by the Israeli company Mirabilis. It quickly climbed the ranks of popularity, and by 2001, under the umbrella of Time Warner, which had acquired AOL, ICQ boasted a user base of 100 million registered accounts. The service changed hands in 2010 when AOL sold it to Digital Sky Technologies, the precursor of VK, then known as Mail.ru.
Adapting to the times, the modern rendition of ICQ functioned similarly to other popular messenger apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. However, a glimpse into the March 2023 Internet Archive snapshot of its iOS App Store listing reveals that ICQ had already disappeared from major app stores, with VK’s announcement perhaps serving as a ceremonial conclusion to its longstanding service.
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