“ASL?”

If you know the significance of this abbreviation, then this news may lead you to a trip down the nostalgic lane. Yahoo Messenger, the unspoken mascot for online social media, will soon be a thing of history.

As per recent reports, Yahoo will finally be putting to rest its instant messaging app Yahoo Messenger on July 17. So if you are of those ancient species who are still clinging to the ages-old messaging service, you will find yourself being redirected to the new group messaging app Squirrel.

Launched in 1998, Yahoo messenger was a window of an unknown unseen world of online chatting. From the beginning with ‘ASL?’ to changing ‘chat-skins’ to sending that irritating ‘BUZZ’ to relentlessly waiting for a webcam invite (only if you are lucky enough!), Yahoo messenger has its own world which only 80s and 90s kids could truly relate.

For those of you in doubt, Yahoo messenger was massively popular in India back then when there was no other medium to get in touch with people on internet- friends and stranger alike. However, with the advent of Orkut and later Google Talk, social networks like Facebook, and smartphone chat apps like WhatsApp, Yahoo messenger soon appeared like a century-old grandpa.

Well, it’s not that Yahoo messenger did not try to compete with the young blood.  Yahoo tried to revive its Messenger service by updating its Android and iOS apps, apart from its Web counterpart.

The new version brought a completely new design and many new features. The most notable among them was the Unsend feature, which allowed users to retrace their footsteps and undo sending messages. However, despite its frantic efforts, Yahoo messenger failed to ring a bell with the Millenials and saw a massive decline in user base.

The only saving grace left for veterans of this service is the transition to Squirrel which will be open to the public when the messenger shuts down. However, again, how this invite-only messaging app fares amidst giants like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp is just the matter of time.

Another sigh of relief for Yahoo messenger users is that they will have six months to download their chat history. Seems like the end of an era, isn’t it?

The post RIP Yahoo Messenger: Torch-Bearer Of Messaging Services To Shut Down Soon appeared first on OurTitbits.