Rest in Peace, MSN Messenger

After two months, Microsoft will finally stop supporting the 15-year Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger) messaging service.

In fact, the company announced the transition of all users from Windows Live to Skype back in 2012, but the last stronghold of this program was China. Until recently.

Microsoft began to warn Chinese users of Windows Live Messenger about the imminent shutdown of the service since Thursday. They were notified that before October 31, you must go to Skype. To anyone who follows the advice, Microsoft has promised to provide a bonus in the form of free Skype calls.
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The MSN Messenger chat service was launched in 1999 as an alternative to the AIM service from AOL. Later, it added features to transfer photos, video calls and games. But it did not save him.

In the early 2000s, for many people, MSN Messenger became an important communication channel, mainly with foreign users (for example, freelancing customers). The service was very popular in the US, and ICQ reigned supreme in our area.

Even in 2009, the Windows Live Messenger audience had 330 million active users. But by this time most of them were from China. But even in China, the Windows Live Messenger program in recent years has hopelessly been losing competition with a QQ messenger from local developers.

The audience gradually decreased, while the number of Skype users rose to 300 million in 2012. Buying Skype for $ 8.5 billion by Microsoft in 2012 passed the final death sentence on the legendary Windows Live Messenger.

Rest in peace, our old friend!