Yahoo answers, one of the oldest and most storied web Q&A platforms on the internet, is shutting down permanently on 4th May. The platform has been running since 2005 and after being live for 16 years, it is finally being put to rest.
The platform’s parent company Yahoo, which was acquired by Verizon Media Group in 2017, made this announcement by displaying a box of text at the top of the Yahoo Answers homepage. The message reads,
Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
This text links to an FAQ page that lists the details of the shutdown. It explains that starting April 20th, the platform will no longer accept new submissions. Moreover, users will have until June 30th to request their data, after that, the data will be inaccessible. This includes “all user-generated content including your Questions list, Questions, Answers list, Answers, and any images”. Users will not be able to download other users’ content, questions, or answers.
While talking about the shutdown, Yahoo detailed that the main reason for this change is that the platform has become less popular over the years. Hence, the company has decided to shift its resources from this to products that will better serve its members.
