Yahoo has finally pulled the plug on Yahoo Answers—a website that served millions of people answers to millions of knotty questions. It used to be the “hope” of the researcher in its glory days. Millions turned to the website when they hit the rock trying to find answers to some difficult questions and life puzzles. All that is in the past now as Yahoo Answers as of today has sunset, and is no longer available.
If you ever had the opportunity to use Yahoo Answers in the past, you will recall with nostalgia how it was the first name on your lips when you want an urgent answer to those difficult questions.
In a message it sent to users early in April, Yahoo said the service will sunset on May 4 [today]. According to Yahoo, the service has become less popular over the years as “the needs of our members changed.” The service stopped allowing users to post new questions and answers since April 20. Users were however, allowed to continue viewing previous posts until today.
In a new email sent out to all users on Tuesday, Yahoo confirmed its earlier message. “We are reaching out to confirm that as of today, the Yahoo Answers website has been shut down.”
Going forward, users will be directed to Yahoo Search for answers to questions. Apparently, Yahoo Answers has outlived its usefulness and is not as relevant as it was back in the days. In fairness to Yahoo, users have moved on to other tools including the increasingly popular Google Search and the likes.
It is the end of an era for a service that brought smiles to the faces of millions of people. The truth is that several other platforms with similar features and services sprang up during that period, which affected its user base. Services like Quora and even Google became even more popular; providing solutions backed by improved technology.
For those who wish to download their data from the website, Yahoo said they can do so until June 30th 2021.
“ In order to download your content, simply sign in to your Yahoo account any time before June 30th and submit a request to download the data from Your Privacy Dashboard. After June 30th, your Yahoo Answers data will be securely deleted and no longer available. The closure of Yahoo Answers will not affect your Yahoo account or other Yahoo services. For further information and instructions on how to download your data, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (or copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://uk.help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN35642.html”
