<s>
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
(	O
stylized	O
as	O
Aol	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
a	O
free	O
web-based	B-Protocol
email	I-Protocol
service	O
provided	O
by	O
AOL	O
,	O
a	O
division	O
of	O
Yahoo	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
has	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
available	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Link	O
to	O
other	O
email	O
accounts	O
from	O
other	O
service	O
providers	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Gmail	B-Application
and	O
Hotmail	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
an	O
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
account	O
is	O
inactive	O
for	O
90	O
days	O
,	O
it	O
may	O
become	O
deactivated	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
point	O
any	O
emails	O
sent	O
to	O
it	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
delivered	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
returned	O
to	O
sender	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
both	O
America	O
Online	O
(	O
AOL	O
)	O
and	O
Delphi	O
started	O
connecting	O
their	O
proprietary	B-Application
e-mail	O
services	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
October	O
1997	O
,	O
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
was	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
largest	O
e-mail	O
provider	O
,	O
with	O
around	O
9	O
million	O
subscribers	O
(	O
identical	O
with	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
AOL	O
subscribers	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
AOL	O
launched	O
NetMail	O
,	O
a	O
web-based	B-Application
version	O
of	O
its	O
e-mail	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
criticized	O
for	O
only	O
working	O
on	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
,	O
but	O
a	O
later	O
Java-written	O
version	O
ensured	O
compatibility	O
with	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
was	O
renamed	O
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
on	O
the	O
Web	O
in	O
December	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
AOL	O
tested	O
a	O
new	O
free	O
webmail	B-Protocol
service	O
for	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
of	O
customers	O
subscribing	O
to	O
AOL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
done	O
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
compete	O
better	O
against	O
MSN	B-Operating_System
Hotmail	I-Operating_System
,	O
Yahoo	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Mail	O
and	O
Gmail	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
launched	O
in	O
May	O
2005	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
AIM	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
,	O
with	O
2	O
gigabytes	O
of	O
mail	O
storage	O
and	O
tightly	O
integrated	O
with	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
(	O
AIM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
technology	O
from	O
MailBlocks	B-Application
,	O
which	O
AOL	O
acquired	O
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
was	O
migrated	O
to	O
AIM	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2010	O
,	O
AOL	O
released	O
Project	O
Phoenix	O
,	O
an	O
email	O
application	O
program	O
that	O
features	O
a	O
Quick	O
Bar	O
where	O
emails	O
,	O
text	O
messages	O
,	O
and	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
messages	O
can	O
be	O
sent	O
from	O
one	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
AOL	O
released	O
the	O
Alto	B-Protocol
Mail	I-Protocol
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
2012	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
24	O
million	O
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
16	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
Verizon	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
acquired	O
AOL	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
discontinue	O
its	O
in-house	O
email	O
services	O
for	O
internet	O
subscribers	O
,	O
and	O
migrate	O
all	O
customers	O
to	O
AOL	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
