What is happened to hotmail
Hotmail, one of the pioneering web-based email services, has undergone several changes and transformations over the years. Here's a brief summary of what's happened to Hotmail:
- Acquisition by Microsoft (1997): Hotmail was founded in 1996 by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith. In 1997, Microsoft acquired Hotmail for $400 million, making it one of the company's first major acquisitions.
- Integration with Microsoft (2001): Microsoft integrated Hotmail with its own email service, MSN Hotmail, and rebranded it as Windows Live Hotmail. This move aimed to create a more seamless experience for users across Microsoft's services.
- Redesign and relaunch (2007): Microsoft relaunched Hotmail with a new design, features, and a focus on security and spam filtering. This update aimed to revamp the service and make it more competitive with other email providers.
- Migration to Outlook.com (2012): Microsoft began migrating Hotmail users to Outlook.com, a new email service that offered a more modern and feature-rich experience. The company announced that Hotmail would eventually be phased out in favor of Outlook.com.
- Hotmail shutdown (2013): On July 31, 2013, Microsoft officially shut down Hotmail as a standalone service. Existing Hotmail accounts were automatically migrated to Outlook.com, and users were encouraged to switch to the new service.
- Outlook.com continues to evolve: Since then, Outlook.com has continued to evolve, with new features and updates being added regularly. Today, Outlook.com is one of the most popular email services in the world, with over 400 million active users.
In summary, Hotmail was acquired by Microsoft in 1997, integrated with MSN Hotmail, and eventually phased out in favor of Outlook.com. The Hotmail brand is no longer used as a standalone email service, but its legacy lives on as part of the Outlook.com service.