AOL is shutting down its iconic dial-up service
AOL, once the go-to name for getting online in the '90s, just announced it's shutting down its dial-up internet service for good on September 20, 2025.
This move also retires some classic AOL software and the AOL Shield browser.
For many, it's a nostalgic goodbye to an internet icon that helped shape how people first logged on.
How AOL became a household name
AOL started back in 1983 as a game download service but became huge in the early '90s by making internet access simple—remember those free CDs everywhere?
By 2000, they had about 20 million users and made "You've got mail" part of pop culture.
But as broadband took over, dial-up faded fast.
Even after Verizon bought AOL in 2015 (now under Yahoo), a few thousand users—mostly in rural spots—still hung on.
With this shutdown, that chapter officially closes.