If you are like an AIM holdout and still using Yahoo Messenger in 2018 then you might be disappointed to know that Verizon’s Oath subsidiary announced that the service would be shutting down next month.
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Via the help page for Yahoo Messenger, it was stated that there would be no replacement for the service which has been around since 1998. This is due to the nature of communication moving away from dedicated instant messengers.
Note that messengers and private chat still exist and find use in services such as Steam and Facebook. The difference here? Steam and Facebook Messenger are a part of larger services that get a ton of use. In recent time starting with the rise of Google, the enthusiasm with anything Yahoo that isn’t News or Answers (for comedy purposes at times) continue to dive.
One eventual replacement for Messenger’s group chat function will be Yahoo Squirrel which is still in the beta stage but will be available for Android and iOS. For those still using Yahoo Messenger, you can retrieve your chat history by going here and following the instructions.
Yahoo Messenger will officially end its run on July 17.
