A monthly ICQ user rate decreased by 35% (17,6 million users) over the last year.

As Vedomosti newspaper reported citing Mail.ru Group, the slump could be explained by the implementation of new antibot mechanisms. However, the experts disagree, citing increasing popularity of social networks as a reason.

According to Comsore, the number of computer messenger users decreased by 15% worldwide, with users giving preference to other communication services.