AOL Mail
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet, Email service |
| Predecessor | America Online email service, Delphi email service |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Products | Webmail service |
| Parent | Yahoo! Inc. |
AOL Mail is a complimentary web-based email platform offered by AOL, which operates as a subsidiary of Yahoo! Inc.
Features
The service provides various functionalities designed to enhance the user experience. Users can attach files up to 25 MB in size, and although the mailbox capacity is effectively unlimited, newly created accounts generally have a storage limit of 1 TB. AOL Mail supports widely used email protocols such as POP3, SMTP, and IMAP, allowing seamless integration with multiple email applications.
It is possible to connect AOL Mail with other email providers like Gmail and Hotmail for consolidated email management. Advertisements are displayed within the service, and for security reasons, embedded links in emails are initially disabled, requiring users to enable them manually.
Security measures include integrated spam filtering and virus protection, along with support for encrypted connections through TLS/HTTPS after signing in. Additionally, a spell-check tool is available to assist users while composing messages.
Email addresses provided by AOL use the @aol.com domain; in the past, users had the option to create addresses with domains such as @love.com, @ygm.com ("you've got mail"), @games.com, and @wow.com.
Accounts that remain inactive for a period of 12 months may be subject to deletion.
History
America Online (AOL) and Delphi began linking their proprietary email services to the Internet in 1993.
By October 1997, AOL Mail had become the largest email provider worldwide, boasting approximately 9 million subscribers, matching AOL's overall subscriber count. That year, AOL introduced NetMail, a web-based email service initially compatible only with Internet Explorer; a subsequent Java-based version extended support to Netscape Navigator. In December 1999, this service was rebranded as AOL Mail on the Web.
In January 2001, AOL launched an email alert system designed for text-only cell phones and pagers.
In 2004, AOL piloted a free webmail service aiming to compete with MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail. This initiative culminated in May 2005 with the release of AIM Mail, featuring 2GB of storage space and integration with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), utilizing technology acquired from MailBlocks that same year.
Starting in August 2006, AOL offered free access for broadband users. During this period, Netscape Mail users were transitioned to AIM Mail.
November 2010 saw the launch of Project Phoenix by AOL—an email application incorporating a Quick Bar that unified messaging across emails, text messages, and AIM accounts. In 2012, AOL introduced Alto Mail software.
By July 2012, AOL Mail's user base reached 24 million; however, by 2021 the number of paying subscribers had decreased to 1.5 million.
On March 16, 2017, Verizon—having acquired AOL in 2015—announced plans to terminate its proprietary email services for internet subscribers and migrate those customers to AOL Mail.