AOL Instant Messenger
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| Developer(s) | AOL Inc. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | May 1997 |
| Written in | C++, Adobe Flash |
| Operating system | Windows, Windows Mobile, macOS, Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS |
| Type | Instant messaging client |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www |
AIM (previously AOL Instant Messenger) is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary and the to allow registered users to communicate in real time.
AIM was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s in North America, and was the leading instant messaging application in that region. AIM's popularity steeply degraded at the end of the decade, and its fall has often been compared with other once-popular internet services such as MySpace.
AOL Instant Messenger was initially integrated into AOL Desktop and later also released as a stand-alone download by America Online (AOL) in May 1997 for Microsoft Windows. The software, maintained by AOL, Inc., at one time had the largest share of the instant messaging market in North America, especially in the United States (with 52% of the total reported as of 2006[update]). This does not include other instant messaging software related to or developed by AOL, such as ICQ and iChat.
Its main competitors during its heyday were ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger. AOL particularly had a rivalry or 'chat war' with rival Microsoft starting in 1999. There were several attempts from Microsoft to simultaneously log into their own and AIM's protocol servers. AOL were not happy about this and started blocking MSN Messenger from being able to access AIM.
AIM went officially mobile in early 2008 when the application was released for Windows Mobile devices and allowed for all devices to send IMs via SMS. However AIM could already be used on various devices beforehand with third-party applications, and as early as 2002 on a Sidekick.
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