In 1996, ICQ was launched by Mirabilis, an Israeli company. The instant messenger quickly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and the ability to communicate in real-time. At its peak in 2001, ICQ had 100 million active user accounts. One of the reasons for its success was its ease of use, making it accessible even to non-tech savvy individuals.
As technology evolved, users started transitioning to mobile messaging apps, leading to a decline in ICQ’s popularity. In 2020, the platform was acquired by Mail.ru (now VK Tech). Efforts were made to update and modernize the platform, but ultimately, it failed to capture the interest of users. As a result, VK Tech has announced that ICQ will be shutting down on June 26. The teams from ICQ will be transferred to the VK Messenger project, which has approximately 73 million users in Russia.