If you’re a devoted Yahoo! user, some of the services you use may be disappearing soon. In an attempt to refocus the company, Yahoo! is giving many services and apps the ax. This seems to be a trend in the tech industry as Google announced the imminent closure of Google Reader to the chagrin of devoted Reader fans. What’s a bit surprising is that Yahoo! isn’t giving users much notice before shutting down these services. The company released a blog post that details how users can save their information before the April 30th deadline, which gives users less than two weeks to act.
Here’s a list of what’s getting axed:
- Upcoming: Upcoming is Yahoo!’s event search and planning app. Along with killing the site, the company will also be discontinuing the API. Yahoo! has set up a page showing how to export your events.
- Yahoo! Deals: This Groupon-like service syndicated deals from across the web. You can save your coupons before the site shuts down.
- Yahoo! SMS Alerts: Targeted primarily towards phones without an internet connection, Yahoo! SMS Alerts will stop proving news and horoscopes via SMS. Yahoo! recommends using their mobile and web apps instead.
- Yahoo! Kids (formerly Yahooligans): The closure will no doubt upset a few kids as well as parents. Yahoo! Kids, the portal for kid-friendly news, games, and more will also get the ax. The company still has its Family Accounts program, which allows kids to stay in touch with family and friends using Yahoo! Mail and Messenger. Maybe kids will start playing outside now.
- Yahoo! Mail and Messenger for feature phones (Java apps): Did you know that Yahoo! was still making Java versions of Yahoo! Mail and Messenger? Neither did I. Yahoo! recommends that you get a smartphone to use its apps on Android and iOS.
- Old versions of Yahoo! Mail: This is the only product that is getting an extended grace period. On June 3rd, 2013, Yahoo! will disable old versions of Yahoo! Mail. Users can easily flip on the new version to avoid email disruption. For those with slow connections, Yahoo! offers a basic HTML only version of Yahoo! Mail. Click here to learn more about how to migrate to the new Yahoo! Mail.
Remember, Yahoo! is only giving you until April 30th to export your data, with the exception of older versions of Yahoo! Mail (June 3rd). It’s sad to see some of these services go but Yahoo! is getting serious about the refocusing the company. Just yesterday the company released a beautiful iPhone weather app and updated mail apps for Android and iOS tablets.
