MUMBAI: The emergence of new messenger apps in the smartphone era has brought down the closure of decades-old instant messaging application, Yahoo Messenger. Verizon subsidiary Oath, operator of Yahoo, recently announced the wrap up of Yahoo Messenger with its services coming to an end on 17 July. 

One of the earliest messaging app, it started its journey in 1998. Yahoo Messenger, once a very popular player witnessed its declining user base eventually due to several new services including smartphone chat apps such as Whatsapp, Skype, Facebook Messenger among others. Existing users now have six months in hand to download their chat history before the service becomes unavailable. 

In a statement issued on Friday, Yahoo said, “There currently isn't a replacement product available for Yahoo Messenger. However, we are constantly experimenting with new services and apps, one of which is an invite-only group messaging app called 'Yahoo Squirrel' which is currently in beta form.”

While avoiding any specific reason behind the shut down of the Messenger, Yahoo said, “As the communications landscape continues to change over, we're focusing on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs.”

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