# Hotmail’s email signup footer

> Every outgoing email carried an invitation to open a free Hotmail account.

- Owner: Hotmail
- Kind: App & software
- Sector: Technology
- Seed date: 1996-07-04
- Milestone date: 1997-12-31
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 35 (Niche, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Visible in use, Shareable output

## Summary

Hotmail launched in July 1996 and attached a free-account invitation to outgoing mail. By Microsoft’s December 1997 acquisition announcement, it had more than nine million members. A contemporary court ruling independently records the automatic footer.

## Timeline

- 1996-07-04 — Hotmail (Open web) — Hotmail launched its free web-based email service.
- 1996-07-09 — NET-HAPPENINGS (Open web) — NET-HAPPENINGS circulated the July 4 launch announcement.
- 1997-04-22 — Wired (Press) — Reported three million Hotmail subscribers and five million daily page impressions; both were company figures.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/hotmail-email-footer

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Hotmail’s email signup footer.” Case HIS-01080. Spread Score v1.2: 35/100. Updated 2026-10-17. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01080