WhereIsAtlas · Tech

ICQ

The pioneering instant messenger of the 1990s, with its famous "Uh oh!" sound — shut down in 2024

Defunct — ICQ was the pioneering instant messenger launched in Israel in 1996 that defined online chat for a generation. Owned later by a Russian internet company, it was finally shut down in June 2024 after 28 years.

ICQ, launched by Israeli start-up Mirabilis in 1996, was the instant messenger that defined online chat in the late 1990s. Users got an ICQ number, and the app's signature "Uh oh!" sound and green flower logo became icons of the early internet era.

ICQ was an enormous international success and helped popularise real-time internet messaging years before the social era. It was acquired by AOL in 1998 for a then-astronomical sum, and later passed to a Russian internet company.

Over time, rivals like MSN Messenger, and later WhatsApp and smartphones, overtook it. ICQ soldiered on as a niche product for years, but in June 2024 the service was finally switched off, ending a 28-year run.

Quick facts

Launched
1996, by Mirabilis (Israel)
Iconic
"Uh oh!" sound, ICQ number
Acquired
AOL, 1998
Later owner
Russian internet company
Shut down
June 2024
Run
28 years
Legacy
Pioneer of modern instant messaging

Lineage — where the name went

ICQ outlived every owner's plan for it: an Israeli startup sold it to AOL, a struggling AOL sold it to a Russian group, and the group that finally switched it off in 2024 was its last owner.

  1. 1996 — Yair Goldfinger founded Mirabilis (one of five co-founders)
  2. 1996 — Mirabilis created ICQ (released on 15 November 1996)
  3. 1998 — AOL acquired Mirabilis ($287 million up front and up to $120 million in performance payments)
  4. 2010 — Digital Sky Technologies acquired ICQ (bought from AOL for $187.5 million)
  5. 2010 — Digital Sky Technologies rebranded as Mail.Ru Group (the buyer took the Mail.Ru Group name in September 2010)
  6. 2020 — Mail.Ru Group created ICQ New (a rebuilt client, launched as ICQ New)
  7. Mail.Ru Group rebranded as VK (the group later rebranded itself as VK)
  8. 2024 — VK created The 2024 shutdown (announced in May 2024, closed on 26 June 2024)
  9. The 2024 shutdown was succeeded by ICQ (the end of a 28-year run)

Entities in this tree: Yair Goldfinger (person); Mirabilis (company, 1996); ICQ (product, 1996); AOL (company); Digital Sky Technologies (company); Mail.Ru Group (company); VK (company); ICQ New (product, 2020); The 2024 shutdown (event, 2024)

Sources

  1. ICQ - Wikipedia — Wikipedia (2026-09-05)
  2. Pioneering internet messenger ICQ shuts after 28 years — Malay Mail (2026-09-05)
  3. AOL to Sell ICQ Service to D.S.T. for $187.5 Million — The New York Times DealBook (2026-09-20)
  4. AOL sells ICQ to Russian investors — CBC News (2026-09-20)
  5. Rebranding of Mail.ru Group into VK — VK (2026-09-20)

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