Friday marks a sad day for fans of AOL's Instant Messenger: the service has been discontinued.

Users who visit AIM.com are redirected to a support with details on its demise.

Oath, the new entity formed under Verizon combining AOL with the recently-acquired Yahoo, revealed in October it would end AIM, as a host of new platforms such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have surfaced.

"AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed," said Michael Albers, vice president of communications product at Oath.

AIM was a staple of personal computers since first launching in 1997. However, AIM couldn't make the seamless transition to mobile, where most users rely on instant messaging services.

Of course, that did not stop users on Twitter from mourning the loss of their first real messaging app.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.