Key facts
- Developer
- AOL
- Initial release
- May 1997 ; 29 years ago ( 1997-05 )
- Written in
- C++ Adobe Flash
- Operating system
- Microsoft Windows Windows Mobile macOS Android iOS BlackBerry OS Android TV
- Type
- Instant messaging
- License
- Proprietary
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- service on Internet
- Developer
- AOL
- Platform
- Microsoft Windows
- Official website
- site.aol.com/aim
Show 7 more facts
- programmed in
- Java
- software version identifier
- 8.0.8.1
- operating system
- Microsoft Windows
- inception
- 1997-00-00
- Commons category
- AIM (instant messenger)
- discontinuation date
- 2017-12-15
- uses
- OSCAR protocol
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM, sometimes stylized as aim) was an instant messaging and presence information computer program created by AOL that operated from 1997 to 2017. It used the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow users to communicate in real time.
AIM launched in May 1997 and became popular by the late 1990s; teens and college students were known to use the messenger's away message feature to keep in touch with friends, often frequently changing their away message throughout a day or leaving a message up with one's computer left on to inform buddies of their ongoings, location, parties, thoughts, or jokes.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “AOL Instant Messenger” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.