Yahoo Messenger Is Now Dead, but You Can Still Get a Copy of Your Chats: Here's How

Yahoo Messenger, the pioneering messaging app that changed the way users communicated over the Internet, is now officially dead. To recall, California-based company Yahoo announced last month that it would be killing off Yahoo Messenger. Users can now no longer access chats in-app, and the service will no longer work. While you cannot log in to the app, even if you have it downloaded on your device, there is a provision by the company to save your chats. Yahoo has mentioned that users can save their chat history on their computer till November end, after which that limited access will also be withdrawn.

As it had revealed last month, Yahoo is pointing users towards its invite-only group messaging app called Yahoo Squirrel. The app is currently in beta, and users can request an invite. As we mentioned, while you can't access Yahoo Messenger, users can download chat history onto their personal computer or device. To do this, head to the downloader request site and sign in. Select a verification method, then enter the Account Key. Click Download, enter the email where you want the chat history file sent, click OK, check your email for the file, and download it from there on to your device.

Even if you have the app installed onto your phone, you won't be able to access or sign in to Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo recommends that users delete the app after users save their chat history.

To recall, Yahoo Messenger was launched by Stanford graduates Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1998, and it managed to run for a long 20 years. In its prime years, the service was the most used as it was an alternative to emails and SMS messaging. However, with the advent of smartphones, Facebook, and eventually WhatsApp, Yahoo Messenger lost its steam and users started to switch. Other services that succumbed to competition over the years include MSN Messenger, AOL, ICQ, and even Orkut.

While social users may not be that perturbed by this development, some oil traders and other merchants may not be that happy. Yahoo's technology revolutionised the industry, helping usher in a new era of high-speed communication that changed the way millions of barrels of oil traded daily. Oil traders, hedge fund managers, pipeline schedulers, brokers refinery buyers and even ship brokers have continued to use Yahoo Messenger globally for everyday business communication, even when everyone else stopped.