Instant messaging

Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of <a href="/facts/Synchronous_computer-mediated_communication/UXwSoP4j">synchronous computer-mediated communication</a> involving the immediate (<a href="/facts/Real-time_computing/p9HxgL4L">real-time</a>) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a> or another <a href="/facts/Computer_network/3w5RM99p">computer network</a>. Originally involving simple <a href="/facts/Text_messaging/AjCD61SD">text message</a> exchanges, modern IM <a href="/facts/Application_(computing)/YQuj7Kog">applications</a> and services (also called "social messengers", "messaging apps", "chat apps" or "chat clients") tend to also feature the exchange of multimedia, <a href="/facts/Emoji/Qkp7gwBH">emojis</a>, <a href="/facts/File_transfer/9qP8HDW8">file transfer</a>, <a href="/facts/Voice_over_IP/5QGBbXYg">VoIP (voice calling)</a>, and <a href="/facts/Videotelephony/Ya9TMFQD">video chat</a> capabilities.
Instant messaging systems facilitate connections between specified known users (often using a contact list also known as a "buddy list" or "friend list") or in <a href="/facts/Chat_room/QbFjlYQU">chat rooms</a>, and can be standalone apps or integrated into a wider <a href="/facts/Social_media/kUIkfpIA">social media</a> platform, or in a website where it can, for instance, be used for <a href="/facts/Conversational_commerce/4pEqs69Q">conversational commerce</a>. Originally the term "instant messaging" was distinguished from "<a href="/facts/Text_messaging/AjCD61SD">text messaging</a>" by being run on a computer network instead of a <a href="/facts/Cellular_phone/H3EcqD9h">cellular/mobile</a> network, being able to write longer messages, real-time communication, <a href="/facts/Presence_information/0BsLtUFM">presence</a> ("status"), and being free (only cost of access instead of per <a href="/facts/SMS/kacRfW0X">SMS</a> message sent).
Instant messaging was pioneered in the early Internet era; the <a href="/facts/IRC/oDr3VN9q">IRC</a> protocol was the earliest to achieve wide adoption. Later in the 1990s, <a href="/facts/ICQ/FnbSJ1GR">ICQ</a> was among the first closed and commercialized instant messengers, and several rival services appeared afterwards as it became a popular use of the Internet. Beginning with its first introduction in 2005, <a href="/facts/BlackBerry_Messenger/jj56MPRM">BlackBerry Messenger</a> became the first popular example of <a href="/facts/Mobile_device/cNS1Rhvg">mobile</a>-based IM, combining features of traditional IM and mobile <a href="/facts/SMS/kacRfW0X">SMS</a>. Instant messaging remains very popular today; IM apps are the most widely used <a href="/facts/Smartphone/cSIrBMWG">smartphone</a> apps: in 2018 for instance there were 980 million <a href="/facts/Monthly_active_users/GuCc4RaI">monthly active users</a> of <a href="/facts/WeChat/LasrgwaM">WeChat</a> and 1.3 billion monthly users of <a href="/facts/WhatsApp/VMlSeFb6">WhatsApp</a>, the largest IM network.

Instant messaging open-in-new

Instant messaging