Editing ICQ (section)

==History==
The founding company of ICQ, Mirabilis, was established in June 1996 by five [[Israelis|Israeli]] developers: Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father [[Yossi Vardi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.israel21c.org/an-artist-for-the-high-tech-age/|title=An artist for the high-tech age|date=July 6, 2003|website=ISRAEL21c}}</ref> ICQ was one of the first text-based messengers to reach a wide range of users.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petronzio|first=Matt|title=A Brief History of Instant Messaging|url=https://mashable.com/2012/10/25/instant-messaging-history/|access-date=2020-11-17|website=Mashable|date=25 October 2012 |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307091743/https://mashable.com/2012/10/25/instant-messaging-history/|archive-date=2021-03-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The technology Mirabilis developed for ICQ was distributed free of charge. The technology's success encouraged [[AOL]] to acquire Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for $287 million up front and $120 million in additional payments over three years based on performance levels.<ref name="nyt mirabilis">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/09/business/america-online-to-buy-internet-chat-service-for-287-million.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 9, 1998 |title=America Online to Buy Internet Chat Service for $287 Million }}</ref> In 2002 AOL successfully patented the technology.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2591723.stm |title=BBC NEWS &#124; Technology &#124; AOL wins instant messaging case |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |access-date=2010-03-31 | date=December 19, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=6449344 |title=Communication system |status=patent |assign1=Aol Acquisition Corporation |invent1=Goldfinger, Yair |invent2=Vigiser, Sefi |invent3=Vardi, Arieh |invent4=Amnon, Amir |pubdate= |gdate=2002-09-10 |fdate=1997-01-27 |pridate=1996-10-06}}</ref>

[[File:Logo ICQ.svg|thumb|150px|ICQ logo from 1998 to 2014]]
After the purchase, the product was initially managed by Ariel Yarnitsky and Avi Shechter. ICQ's management changed at the end of 2003. Under the leadership of the new CEO, Orey Gilliam,<ref>{{cite web|last=Haner|first=Lior|title=ICQ, the fashion house Company to enter TV messaging and appliances too|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/icq-the-fashion-house-1.189682|publisher=Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd|access-date=25 April 2014|date=Jun 7, 2006}}</ref> who also assumed the responsibility for all of AOL's messaging business in 2007, ICQ resumed its growth; it was not only a highly profitable company, but one of AOL's most successful businesses. Eliav Moshe replaced Gilliam in 2009 and became ICQ's managing director.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schütz|first=Anja|title=Why ICQ is so successful in Germany|date=March 2010 |url=http://www.silicon.de/41528215/warum-icq-in-deutschland-so-erfolgreich-ist/|publisher=NetMediaEurope Germany|access-date=25 April 2014|language=de}}</ref>

[[File:Papirus-64-apps-icq.svg|thumb|150px|ICQ logo, used from 2015 to <!-- April -->2020]]
In April 2010, AOL sold ICQ to Digital Sky Technologies, headed by [[Alisher Usmanov]], for $187.5 million.<ref name="FT.com mail.ru">{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ba3294a-52c1-11df-a192-00144feab49a.html |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |title=AOL sells ICQ to Russian internet company |date=April 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430191635/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ba3294a-52c1-11df-a192-00144feab49a.html |archive-date=April 30, 2010 }}</ref> While ICQ was displaced by AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, and other competitors in the US and many other countries over the 2000s, it remained the most popular instant messaging network in Russian-speaking countries, and an important part of online culture.<ref name="wired2010">{{Cite magazine |last=Kovalev |first=Alexey |author-link=Alexey Kovalev (journalist) |date=2010-05-03 |title=Why ICQ is so important to Russia |language=en |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/why-icq-is-so-important-to-russia |access-date=2022-04-01 |issn=1357-0978}}</ref> Popular [[ICQ#UIN|UIN]]s demanded over 11,000₽ in 2010.<ref name="wired2010" />

In September of that year, [[Digital Sky Technologies]] changed its name to Mail.Ru Group. Since the acquisition, Mail.ru has invested in turning ICQ from a desktop client to a mobile messaging system. As of 2013, around half of ICQ's users were using its mobile apps, and in 2014, the number of users began growing for the first time since the purchase.<ref name="bloomberg2014" />

In March 2016, the [[source code]] of the client was released under the [[Apache license]] on [[GitHub]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://omgdgt.com/2016/03/messeneger-icq-has-opened-the-source-code/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427112658/http://omgdgt.com/2016/03/messeneger-icq-has-opened-the-source-code/|title=Messeneger ICQ has opened the source code|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://github.com/mailru/icqdesktop icqdesktop] on GitHub</ref>

In 2020, Mail.Ru Group decided to launch a new version, "ICQ New", based on the original ICQ. The updated software was presented to the general public on April 6, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Novinar |first=Novinar |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Mail.Ru Group Brings Back ICQ Messenger With Focus on Group Talks |url=https://russiabusinesstoday.com/technology/mail-ru-group-brings-back-icq-messenger-with-focus-on-group-talks/ |website=Russia Business Today}}</ref> 

During the second week of January 2021, ICQ saw a renewed increase in popularity in [[Hong Kong]], spurred on by the controversy over [[WhatsApp]]'s privacy policy update. The number of downloads for the application increased 35-fold in the region.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Purnell |first1=Newley |last2=Wang |first2=Joyu |date=24 January 2021 |title=Dropping WhatsApp? Nostalgia Drives Users to ICQ |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/dropping-whatsapp-nostalgia-drives-users-to-icq-11611502516 |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>

On May 24, 2024, the main page of ICQ's website announced that the service would be shutting down on June 26, 2024.<ref name="auto"/> ICQ recommended that users migrate to [[VK (service)|VK Messenger and VK WorkSpace]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/software/well-miss-you-pioneering-instant-messaging-program-icq-is-finally-shutting-down-after-nearly-30-years/|title=We'll Miss You: Pioneering instant messaging program ICQ is finally shutting down after nearly 30 years|author1=Andy Chalk|website=PC Gamer |date=May 24, 2024|via=www.pcgamer.com}}</ref>

===Development history===
*'''ICQ 99a/b''' the first releases that were widely available.
*'''ICQ 2000''' incorporated into ''Notes'' and ''Reminder'' features.
*'''ICQ 2001''' included server-side storage of the contact list. This provided synchronization between multiple computers and enforced obtaining consent before adding UINs to the contact list by preventing clients from modifying the local contact list directly.
*In 2002, [[AOL Time Warner]] announced that ICQ had been issued a United States [[patent]] for instant messaging.
*'''ICQ 2002''' was the last completely advertising-free ICQ version.
*'''ICQ Pro 2003b''' was the first ICQ version to use the ICQ protocol version 10. However, ''ICQ 5'' and 5.1 use version 9 of the protocol. ''ICQ 2002'' and ''2003a'' used version 8 of the ICQ protocol. Earlier versions (''ICQ 2001b'' and all ICQ clients before it) used ICQ protocol version 7.
*'''ICQ 4''' and later '''ICQ 5''' (released on Monday, February 7, 2005), were upgrades on ICQ Lite. One addition was Xtraz, which offers games and features intended to appeal to younger users of the Internet. ICQ Lite was originally an idea to offer the lighter users of instant messaging an alternative client which was a smaller download and less resource-hungry for relatively slow computers.
*'''ICQ 5''' introduced [[Skin (computing)|skins]] support. There are few official [[Skin (computing)|skins]] available for the current ICQ 5.1 at the official website; however, a number of user-generated skins have been made available for download.
*'''ICQ 6''', released on April 17, 2007, was the first major update since ICQ 4. The [[user interface]] has been redesigned using [[Boxely]], the same rendering engine used in [[AIM Triton]]. This change adds new features such as the ability to send IMs directly from the client's contact list. ICQ has recently started forcing users of v5.1 to upgrade to version 6 (and XP).  Those who do not upgrade will find their older version of ICQ does not start up.  Although the upgrade to version 6 should be seen as a positive thing, some users may find that useful features such as sending multiple files at one time is no longer supported in the new version.  At the beginning of July 2008, a network upgrade forced users to stop using ICQ 5.1 – applications that identified themselves as ICQ 5, such as [[Pidgin (software)|Pidgin]], were forced to identify themselves as ICQ 6. There seems to be no alternative for users other than using a different IM program or patching ICQ 5.1 with a special application.
*'''ICQ 7.0''', released on January 18, 2010. This update includes integration with [[Facebook]] and other websites. It also allows custom personal status similar to [[Windows Live Messenger]] ([[MSN Messenger]]). ICQ 7.0 does not support [[traditional Chinese]] on standard installation or with the addition of an official language pack. This has made its adoption difficult with the established user base from Hong Kong and Taiwan where traditional Chinese is the official language.
*'''ICQ 8''', released on February 5, 2012 – "Meet the new generation of ICQ, Enjoy free video calls, messages and SMS, social networks support and more."
*'''ICQ 10.0''', released January 18, 2016. Final update was 10.0 Build 46867, released on May 27, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filehorse.com/download-icq/old-versions/|access-date=June 30, 2022|work=File Horse|title=ICQ}}</ref>