Editing AIM (software) (section)

==Privacy==
For privacy regulations, AIM had strict age restrictions. AIM accounts are available only for people over the age of 13; children younger than that were not permitted access to AIM.<ref name="6 Facts About AIM's Privacy Policy">{{cite web|url=http://im.about.com/od/promotingimsafety/a/aim-privacy.htm|title=AIM Privacy -- Terms of Service Policy -- AIM Privacy|author=Brandon De Hoyos|work=About.com Tech|access-date=August 10, 2015|archive-date=September 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928122933/http://im.about.com/od/promotingimsafety/a/aim-privacy.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Under the AIM Privacy Policy, AOL had no rights to read or monitor any private communications between users. The profile of the user had no privacy.<ref name="6 Facts About AIM's Privacy Policy" />

In November 2002, AOL targeted the corporate industry with Enterprise AIM Services (EAS), a higher security version of AIM.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2578769/aol-takes-aim-at-corporate-instant-messaging-users.html|title=AOL Takes AIM at Corporate Instant Messaging Users|first=Todd R.|last=Weiss|date=November 11, 2002|website=Computerworld|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=April 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427110333/https://www.computerworld.com/article/2578769/aol-takes-aim-at-corporate-instant-messaging-users.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

If public content was accessed, it could be used for online, print or broadcast advertising, etc. This was outlined in the policy and terms of service: "...&nbsp;you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium". This allowed anything users posted to be used without a separate request for permission.<ref name="6 Facts About AIM's Privacy Policy" />

AIM's security was called into question. AOL stated that it had taken great pains to ensure that personal information will not be accessed by unauthorized members, but that it cannot guarantee that it will not happen.<ref name="6 Facts About AIM's Privacy Policy" />

AIM was different from other clients, such as [[Yahoo! Messenger]], in that it did not require approval from users to be added to other users' buddy lists. As a result, it was possible for users to keep other unsuspecting users on their buddy list to see when they were online, read their status and away messages, and read their profiles. There was also a Web API to display one's status and away message as a widget on one's webpage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dev.aol.com/data_sheets/WebAIM_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf |title=Integrate Your Site with AIM in 3 Easy Steps |work=AOL Developer Network |publisher=AOL Inc |page=2 |access-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726062640/http://dev.aol.com/data_sheets/WebAIM_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Though one could block a user from communicating with them and seeing their status, this did not prevent that user from creating a new account that would not automatically be blocked and therefore able to track their status. A more conservative privacy option was to select a menu feature that only allowed communication with users on one's buddy list; however, this option also created the side-effect of blocking all users who were not on one's buddy list. Users could also choose to be invisible to all.