ICQ, Popular Instant Messaging Service, Is Shutting Down on June 26

• ICQ, the legendary instant messaging app from the 90s, is closing shop June 26 onwards.
• The service's mobile apps have been delisted from all app stores for around a year now.
• VK, ICQ's owner, is now focusing on the VK Messenger app VK Me'.

If you're as old as me (and I'm in my 20s), you probably remember the days when the Internet was still a scarce commodity and people used the popular ICQ app to keep in touch with their family and friends.

Sadly, ICQ is now shutting down. VK, the Russian company that owns ICQ, posted a message on Friday that simply reads ICQ will stop working from June 26."

ICQ was all the rage during the late 90s and early 2000s. The app became so popular that it hit the 100 million user mark in 2001, just within 4 years of its launch.

This explosive growth was attributed to strong word of mouth and viral marketing. It was also among the first Internet instant messaging software, which offered a new communication channel to the masses.

ICQ users would get a unique number, which they could use for real-time chats. You could even text people if they were offline, which was very uncommon at the time.

Increasing Competition

ICQ was launched in 1996 by Mirabilis, an Israeli company. It was purchased by AOL in 1998 and then sold to Digital Sky Technologies, the parent company of VK, in 2010.

All ICQ apps stand delisted from the app stores since at least the July of 2023.

Fast forward to 2024, ICQ has lost its initial charm to modern competition like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, and other instant messaging apps. At a time when these platforms are moving towards AI updates-such as WhatsApp's new AI-generated profile pictures- ICQ seems to be miles behind them.

VK tried to keep up with the quickly evolving Internet messaging landscape. ICQ did offer iOS and Android apps at one point, but they never really took off. Now, it looks like VK has finally abandoned ICQ for good.

VK is now focusing on VK Messenger, Russia's homegrown instant messaging app. In fact, the ICQ shutdown message redirects users to the VK Messenger and VK WorkSpace apps.

It's also worth noting that the official ICQ X handle has posted a cryptic GIF, which says I'll be back'. Now, this is most likely just a marketing gimmick to hype the VK apps. Or will ICQ make a comeback? Only time will tell.

In its heyday/90s, ICQ supported over 2M simultaneous users - that's an amazing feat of engineering! Kudos to everyone who built and ran that platform." - An ICQ User

Users all over the world have expressed disappointment seeing ICQ retire, with many of them requesting the app not to leave.

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