By Tom Jones
Yahoo has announced that its 19-year-old service platform Yahoo Groups will shut down on December 15, 2020, after a steady decline in usage.
Verizon which took ownership of Yahoo in 2017 made this announcement known on Tuesday via the Yahoo Groups website and emails sent to Yahoo Group users.
”Yahoo Groups has made the decision to shut down as of December 15. Yahoo Groups has seen a steady decline in usage over the last several years. Over that same period, we’ve witnessed unprecedented levels of engagement across our properties as customers seek out premium, trustworthy content.” the group stated in a message on its website.
”While these decisions are never easy, we must sometimes make difficult decisions regarding products that no longer fit our long-term strategy as we hone our focus on other areas of the business the message read further.
Yahoo Groups was launched in early 2001 as an integration of technology from eGroups.com and Yahoo Clubs but rising competition from social media community platforms like Facebook and Google has led to the loss in its once-massive userbase.
The message further stated that the creation of new groups will be disabled as of October 12 while users will no longer be able to send and receive emails from Yahoo Groups. as well as the inaccessibility of the website from December 15th.
“Thank you for helping us build one of the earliest digital communities — we’re proud and honored to have forged countless connections over the last 20 years and played a small part in helping build your communities,” the Yahoo Group concluded.
