Editing ICQ (section)

{{Short description|Cross-platform instant messaging system and VoIP client}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox software
| name = ICQ
| logo = ICQNewlogo.svg
| logo size = 150px
| logo caption = ICQ logo, debuted in 2020
| screenshot = 
| caption = 
| collapsible = no
| author = [[Mirabilis (company)|Mirabilis]]
| developer = {{ubl | [[Mirabilis (company)|Mirabilis]] (1996–1998) | [[AOL]] (1998–2010)| [[VK (company)|VK]] (2010–2024)}}
| released = {{Start date and age|1996|11|15}}
| discontinued = yes
| latest release version = 10.0.46867 (May 27, 2022)
| ver layout = simple
| latest release date = 
| programming language = {{ubl | [[C++]] ([[Linux]]/{{zwsp}}[[Windows]]/{{zwsp}}[[MacOS]]) | [[Objective-C]]/[[Swift (programming language)|Swift]] ([[iOS]]) | [[Java (programming language)|Java]]/[[Kotlin (programming language)|Kotlin]] ([[Android (operating system)|Android]])}}
| platform = {{hlist | [[iOS]] | [[Android (operating system)|Android]] | [[Windows]] | [[MacOS]] | [[web application]] | [[Linux]] | [[Windows Phone]] | [[Windows Mobile]] | [[Java (software platform)|Java]] | [[Symbian OS]] | [[Symbian S60]] | [[BlackBerry OS]] | [[Bada (operating system)|Bada]] | [[Amazon Fire]] | [[Palm Pilot]] | [[iMode]]}}
| genre = [[Instant messaging]]
| license = [[Proprietary license|Proprietary]]
| language = {{hlist | Russian | English | Hebrew | Portuguese | Ukrainian | German | Czech | French | Chinese | Turkish | Spanish | Arabic | Vietnamese}}
| website = {{URL|icq.com}}
}}

'''ICQ''' was a cross-platform [[instant messaging]] (IM) and [[VoIP]] client founded in June 1996 by Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father, Yossi Vardi. The name ICQ [[gramogram|derives from]] the English phrase "I Seek You".<ref name="Time Warner2001" /> Originally developed by the [[State of Israel|Israeli]] company [[Mirabilis (company)|Mirabilis]] in 1996, the client was bought by [[AOL]] in 1998, and then by [[Mail.Ru Group]] (now VK) in 2010.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100428005962/en/Digital-Sky-Technologies-Acquire-AOL%E2%80%99s-ICQ-Instant|title=News|website=www.businesswire.com}}</ref>

The ICQ client application and service were initially released in November 1996, freely available to download. The business did not have traditional marketing and relied mostly on word-of-mouth advertising instead, with customers telling their friends about it, who then informed their friends, and so on.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-19 |title=What Is ICQ? Myths, Scams & More (with pictures) |url=http://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-icq.htm |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=Easy Tech Junkie |language=en-US}}</ref> ICQ was among the first stand-alone [[instant messenger]] (IM) applications—while real-time chat was not in itself new ([[Internet Relay Chat]] [IRC] being the most common platform at the time), the concept of a fully centralized service with individual user accounts focused on one-on-one conversations set the blueprint for later instant messaging services like [[AOL Instant Messenger|AIM]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.techspot.com/article/1771-icq/|title=What Ever Happened to ICQ?|website=TechSpot|date=23 February 2022 }}</ref> and its influence is seen in modern social media applications. ICQ became the first widely adopted IM platform.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@Workato/from-aim-to-slack-tracing-the-history-of-chat-apps-b2419c12b9dc|title=From AIM to Slack: Tracing the History of Chat Apps|date=June 9, 2017|website=Medium}}</ref>

At its peak around 2001, ICQ had more than 100 million accounts registered.<ref name="Time Warner2001">[http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2001/05/09/icq-celebrates-100-million-registered-users ICQ Surpasses 100 Million Registered Users] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510153236/http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2001/05/09/icq-celebrates-100-million-registered-users |date=2019-05-10 }}, Time Warner Press Release – May 09, 2001 (accessed 2015-05-12).</ref> At the time of the Mail.Ru acquisition in 2010, there were around 42 million daily users.<ref name="bloomberg2014">{{citation|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-29/icq-messenger-is-growing-for-the-first-time-in-years|title=ICQ Messenger Is Growing for the First Time in Years|first=Ilya|last=Khrennikov|date=29 July 2014|work=Bloomberg Business}}</ref> In 2022, ICQ had about 11 million monthly users.<ref>{{cite news |title=What Ever Happened to ICQ? |url=https://www.techspot.com/article/1771-icq/ |work=TechSpot |date=23 February 2022}}</ref>

The service was shut down on June 26, 2024, following an announcement on ICQ's website in May 2024. <ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://uk.pcmag.com/mobile-apps/152479/icq-one-of-the-oldest-instant-messengers-is-shutting-down|title=ICQ, One of the Oldest Instant Messengers, Is Shutting Down|first=Michael|last=Kan|date=May 24, 2024|website=pcmag.com}}</ref>