Ammonia was never used in home refrigeration, except in absorption units (where it is still used today); the other toxic one that was widely used is SO2 (sulphur dioxide).
In large commercial applications ammonia is still commonly used.
Getting this crazy crap out of our homes and stuff is indeed a big step forward, though
idk. I'd be happy to run ammonia at home. When I looked years ago no one make small enough compressors though.