Know If Hotmail Is Still Around in 2025

Over the years, usage of emails are increasing. Now, in both personal and professional communication, email is the main medium. Although new technologies developed to improve communication like WhatsApp, chats, etc. Email is still a number one choice for discussions, sharing important documents in companies. Thus, this blog will take you to the past and discuss the history of the first Web email client Hotmail. and provide you the answer to the main question – Is Hotmail still around? Before starting this blog, let’s see a Hotmail user query regarding this question:

I have been a Hotmail user since it was released. While Microsoft has enhanced Hotmail’s working, constant name-changing has left me confused and thinking – Is Hotmail the same as Outlook, or are both different email services by Microsoft?

Microsoft has introduced multiple email services to attract a large volume of users, but, due to certain factors, Microsoft has failed to create a monopoly in the market. Additionally, due to several product rebrands, it is confusing for users to rely on one platform, as there are Outlook Web App, Outlook Online, and other email services. In the next section, users will explore whether Hotmail still exists and the services offered by Microsoft Outlook.

Introduction to Hotmail

Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith introduced Hotmail, one of the earliest webmail services, in 1996. With free storage of just 2 MB and independence from ISP-based services, Hotmail helped users access their emails from anywhere in the world. Microsoft acquired it in late 1997 and quickly added it to its MSN group of online services.

Hotmail’s Rebranding Journey

Hotmail changed names two times before finally settling on the present name. We will discuss them with their timeline in the following points:

• MSN Hotmail – As mentioned above, Microsoft acquired Hotmail in 1997 and added it to its MSN group, leading to the new name MSN Hotmail. By February 1999, the email client had 30 million users, becoming one of the best webmail services.
• Outlook.com – The third and current name – Outlook.com – was given by Microsoft in 2012 to highlight the new changes, particularly in security (since Hotmail in 1999 encountered one grave security issue). So, the old users got the option to switch to an @outlook.com email address.

Is Hotmail Still Around?

Hotmail is still available for email users looking to create new email addresses, but they can access their emails only using Outlook.com or the Outlook app. Microsoft has phased out Hotmail as an email service but still supports the current and new email addresses since buying it in 1997. The only difference is it has replaced the services with Outlook and added more features, making Outlook its primary email service.

Is Hotmail.com the Same as Outlook.com? Let’s Find Out!

Now, the biggest question that comes to the mind of Hotmail users is – Are Hotmail and Outlook the same email service?

Hotmail and Outlook are essentially the same email service. Outlook is a robust upgrade to the basic Hotmail, with advanced security, maximum storage and other features. Existing users of Hotmail can use the Outlook.com website or the Outlook app to access their emails even though they are unable to access Hotmail website (it redirects to Outlook.com).

Old email users can still access their account using the Outlook app or web client. So, they can still send, recieve and manage their emails. What makes Outlook unique is the massive increase in storage capacity – from 2 MB to 15 GB for a free Outlook account. This 15 GB gets increased to a massive 50 GB when Outlook users upgrade to a paid Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) subscription.

Prime Features of the Automated Solution

The main role of the software is to save your emails securely. But, there are several functions offered by the tool that will do more than just download the data. Here are the key features of the utility.

• Numerous Email Downloading Sources – The software exports your Hotmail emails to popular email formats, document formats, email servers & desktop clients with all data & email attributes.
• Selective Email Selection – Users can migrate limited emails with features like Date Filter and Search Filter (search emails with a specific subject, date, time, attachment and other metadata) to the various email clients and file formats.
• Maintains Email Integrity & Hierarchy- This software ensures that the email data remains undamaged during the backup process. Each email’s metadata, content body and attachments stay secure without data loss. Also, this tool allows you to download Hotmail emails to computer without changing the folder structure.

So There You Have It

The blog offers insights into the existence of Hotmail and the email services now provided by MS Outlook. This program is same as Outlook with advanced features and collaborative solutions. Hence, the answer is no to the question of, “Is Hotmail still around?” However, you can still use your old account in Outlook.com.