BetaNews
Instant messaging service Yahoo Messenger shut down on Tuesday after a 20-year run. The iconic messaging application from late 90s struggled to keep up with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
“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,” Yahoo said in a press release in June. “As the communications landscape continues to change over, we’re focusing on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs.”
Users still clinging to the service will now be redirected to Squirrel, a new instant messaging app, and will be given six months to back up their chat history.
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The archaic messaging app was launched as Yahoo Pager on March 9, 1998. It was re-branded Yahoo Messenger on June 21, 1999.
In 2009, Yahoo Messenger had 122.6 million users. It also found a niche within oil and commodity traders in the 1990s because it was free, easy to use, and was quickly solidified as their main method of communication.