search

AOL Instant Messenger will be shut down soon

It closes for good on December 15.

October 06, 2017

AOL Instant Messenger, the once-popular chat service launched in 1997, will shut down on December 15. The impending closure was announced by AOL on Tumblr.

ADVERTISEMENT

Michael Albers, VP of Communications Product at Oath, writes that changing times are behind the company's decision to suspend the service. "AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed."

In March, AIM announced that the service would no longer be accessible via third-party apps, stocking speculation of a shutdown.

ADVERTISEMENT
Posted: October 06, 2017