First it was MSN Messenger, then it was AIM, now the last great bastion of early internet chat is on its way to Silicon Heaven.
Yahoo Messenger will be discontinued on July 17, the web pioneer giant announced on Friday. In little over five weeks, the 20-year-old platform will no longer work and users won’t be able to access chats.
Those wanting to preserve their chat history will need to download it to their device within six months. That can be achieved through a specific downloader request site.
Yahoo says it is working on new communications tools more befitting of the mobile age. One of them is Yahoo Squirrel, an invite-only group messaging app that’s currently in Beta. Those interested can request an invite.
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“We know we have many loyal fans who have used Yahoo Messenger since its beginning as one of the first chat apps of its kind,” the Verizon-owned company wrote on its support site (via TechCrunch)
“As the communications landscape continues to change over, we’re focusing on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs.”
The company recommends deleting the app as soon as you’ve downloaded the chat history, because it’ll no longer work.
AIM left this mortal coil just before Christmas last year, and MSN was done for as soon as Microsoft bought Skype. The company eventually shut down the platform after 15 years in 2014.
Do you miss any of the old messaging services? Drop us a line with your favourite early internet apps @TrustedReviews on Twitter. You know, that platform that hastened their demise.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
