Your ICQ number is finally going to the afterlife. The Russian company VK, administrator of the service since 2010, posted a message Friday which simply says: “ICQ will stop working from June 26th” and implores users to switch to their other chat solutions.
ICQ was among the first instant messaging services, like AOL Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger, that allowed real-time chats. It differed from the others in that it assigned users a number that they would use to connect with each other, rather than aliases or email addresses. It also had unusual features like SMS messaging and the ability to send messages to people who were offline.
And, of course, we of a certain age probably remember the “Ah, ah!” alert this would…
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