3 December 2015

Yahoo's new Messenger is made for social

Yahoo! has introduced a new Yahoo Messenger for mobile, the Web and in Yahoo Mail on the desktop. Yahoo Messenger makes sharing, and liking messages, pictures and animated GIFs easy.

“We’re excited to introduce the next generation of Yahoo Messenger. It has long been one of our core products but it was time to redesign the product from the ground up and reinvest in one of the most important products in our history as a company,” said Jeff Bonforte, Senior VP of communication products and engineering at Yahoo.

“The messaging space has grown dramatically, yet people ultimately want a fast and easy way to communicate with each other. The new Yahoo Messenger was designed first and foremost to meet those needs. This is just the beginning of what’s to come.”

Powered by Yahoo's Flickr photo platform, the app allows multiple high-resolution photos to be viewed without interrupting the flow of the conversation. In recognition that GIFs are a standard component of conversations today, there is a GIF button in the message box that opens a GIF search and also displays a collection of the top trending GIFs on Tumblr. 'Like' a photo, message or GIF with a tap, and 'unsend' to remove messages, photos or GIFs from a conversation. Emojis are supported via the standard keyboard.

Yahoo Messenger desktop users (on the Web or in Yahoo Mail on the desktop) can also enjoy Account Key, which uses push notifications to provide fast and secure access to your account from the Yahoo Messenger mobile app. The feature takes care of passwords for the user, and makes signing-in as easy as tapping a button.

There is also an offline/low connectivity mode, which only posts content shared by the user only when the user is online.

Interested?

Yahoo Messenger is available globally today in the Apple App Store and Google Play as well as on the Web. Download the app on iOS and Android

Yahoo Messenger in Yahoo Mail on the desktop is rolling out globally starting today.

The apps are English only but will also be available in local languages soon.

*Pictures from Yahoo