AOL celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010 and is still a leading web-services company. Originally doing business as Quantum Computer Services until 1991, AOL greeted millions of its members each visit with the now-iconic saying "You've got mail!" While many people have moved on to different e-mail and instant messaging clients, a member's AOL account stays active unless deleted by the member. It can be interesting to discover how long you or a "buddy" has been an AOL member, and it is easy to find the registration date of an account.

  • AOL celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010 and is still a leading web-services company.
  • It can be interesting to discover how long you or a "buddy" has been an AOL member, and it is easy to find the registration date of an account.

Navigate to AOL's help page.

Click on "My Account" under the "Settings" menu. This opens the AOL sign-in page.

Sign in with your AOL user name and password.

Click "Manage My AOL Account," under the "Service Options" menu. The registration date information is displayed on this page.

  • Sign in with your AOL user name and password.
  • Click "Manage My AOL Account," under the "Service Options" menu.

Download and install a universal chat client, such as Pidgin.

Enable AOL's instant messenger service, AIM, in Pidgin's "Manage Accounts" menu. You will be prompted to sign into your AOL account.

Click on the "Buddies" tab in Pidgin.

Right-click on the name of a buddy in your list.

Click the "Get Info" option on the pop-up menu. A window will open that will display buddy information. If the buddy is currently signed into his AIM account, this information will include his "member since" date.

TIP

If you've forgotten your password, AOL will help you recover it using the email address you gave when signing up for AOL or by answering the account security question you set at registration.