Yahoo Messenger Gets A July 17 Execution Date

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By Kevin Carbotte
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Verizon Communications subsidiary Oath, which oversees the AOL and Yahoo brands as well as the company's other digital content interests, announced that it would shutter the Yahoo Messenger service in just over a month. That's right: Yahoo Messenger just received a July 17 execution date.

In recent years, Verizon Communications has made a couple significant moves in the internet media space. It acquired AOL in June 2015, and in June 2017, it took over Yahoo! Inc's primary assets. Along with purchase of Yahoo, Verizon created Oath Inc to oversee both of the brands it had just bought.

For the first few months, Oath let AOL and Yahoo operate as they did before, but in October 2017 the company announced that it would close AOL’s long-running AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service. Oath discontinued AIM on December 15, 2017, and now it’s gearing up to do the same with Yahoo’s competing Yahoo Messenger app.

Oath acknowledged that Yahoo Messenger has many loyal fans, but the company wants to move away from antiquated messaging platforms and “focus on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs.”

Yahoo already offers a replacement messaging application called Yahoo Squirrel. The app is still in beta, and it requires an invite to gain access (you can request an invite at squirrel.yahoo.com). It’s unclear when Squirrel will be available to everyone, but Yahoo wants to transition Yahoo Messenger users to Yahoo Squirrel in due time, and with Yahoo Messenger closing soon, we estimate Squirrel should leave closed beta sooner rather than later.

After July 17, the Yahoo Messenger app will cease to function. Oath said that your chat history would remain accessible for six months, but the desktop app would serve no other function during that timeframe. The change will have no effect on your Yahoo ID for other Yahoo services, such as Yahoo Mail.

Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 10tacle
    Marissa Meyer single handed destroyed Yahoo with meaningless micromanagement principles shifting that company's core focus (their security breaches prove that well). She was a programmer, not a business head at Google. She was put in a position based on her gender that she was unqualified all for over-political correctness. There. I said it.
    Reply
  • DookieDraws
    Yahoo Squirrel? Seriously? Bet the execution date for Yahoo Squirrel will soon follow! :P
    Reply
  • ravewulf
    I didn't realize Yahoo Messenger was still around
    Reply
  • 4745454b
    I thought it had shut down. It hasn't signed in/connected for me in years. I really get the feeling I'm going to have to find a new homepage soon.
    Reply
  • schwatzz
    21040371 said:
    Marissa Meyer single handed destroyed Yahoo with meaningless micromanagement principles shifting that company's core focus (their security breaches prove that well). She was a programmer, not a business head at Google. She was put in a position based on her gender that she was unqualified all for over-political correctness. There. I said it.

    Yahoo! was kinda doomed since 2008. I really doubt anyone, even if they were "qualified", could have turned it around.
    Reply
  • thasan1
    21040371 said:
    Marissa Meyer single handed destroyed Yahoo with meaningless micromanagement principles shifting that company's core focus (their security breaches prove that well). She was a programmer, not a business head at Google. She was put in a position based on her gender that she was unqualified all for over-political correctness. There. I said it.

    Any proof to support that?
    Reply