AIM (software)

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM, sometimes stylized as aim) was an <a href="/facts/Instant_messaging/8lwwDyjK">instant messaging</a> and <a href="/facts/Presence_information/0BsLtUFM">presence information</a> computer program created by <a href="/facts/AOL/MAbT38QS">AOL</a>. It used the proprietary <a href="/facts/OSCAR_protocol/enVIlh0M">OSCAR instant messaging protocol</a> and the <a href="/facts/TOC_protocol/VvwC83TI">TOC protocol</a> to allow users to communicate in real time.
AIM was popular by the late 1990s; teens and college students were known to use the messenger's away message feature to keep in touch with friends, often frequently changing their away message throughout a day or leaving a message up with one's computer left on to inform buddies of their ongoings, location, parties, thoughts, or jokes. AIM's popularity declined as AOL subscribers started decreasing and steeply towards the 2010s, as <a href="/facts/Gmail/GXU2IQH4">Gmail</a>'s <a href="/facts/Google_Talk/DuDglrNP">Google Talk</a>, SMS, and Internet social networks, like <a href="/facts/Facebook/0IhXFR6u">Facebook</a> gained popularity. Its fall has often been compared with other once-popular Internet services, such as <a href="/facts/Myspace/dES860Ro">Myspace</a>.
In June 2015, AOL was acquired by <a href="/facts/Verizon_Communications/8WkoRAUM">Verizon Communications</a>. In June 2017, Verizon combined AOL and Yahoo into its subsidiary Oath Inc. (now called <a href="/facts/Verizon_Media/b9VtzdL8">Yahoo</a>). The company discontinued AIM as a service on December 15, 2017.

AIM (software) open-in-new

AIM (software)