Yahoo Messenger Relaunches with Enhanced Capabilities

Built on a modern platform, the app makes sharing, unsending, and liking messages, photos, and animated GIFs hassle-free and quick

Yahoo! has launched a new Yahoo Messenger for mobile, the Web, and in Yahoo Mail on the desktop. Built on a modern platform, the app makes sharing, unsending, and liking messages, photos, and animated GIFs hassle-free. Understanding the relationship between contacts, it simplifies the proses of adding people to group conversations.

“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, SVP of Communication Products and Engineering at Yahoo.

Observing how the messaging space has grown dramatically, he added that people ultimately want a fast and easy way to communicate. As such, 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 Flickr’s photo platform, it instantly send hundreds of photos using the simple upload tool. The photos shared are displayed in a photo drawer which scrolls horizontally. Therefore, they can be viewed in the context of the conversation, without interrupting the flow of the same.

Furthermore, in a Yahoo Messenger conversation, it is simple enough to search and find the ideal GIF to send. For this, there is a specific button in the message box that opens a search and also displays a collection of the top trending GIFs on Tumblr.
Also, there is an ‘unsend’ feature available which can be accessed by tapping on a message, photo, or GIF. To activate, a user just needs to select to remove it from a conversation; not only from one’s own view, but everyone else’s too, which is ideal for eliminating sender remorse. With the app, ‘likes’ are also possible.

Finally, desktop users also get to take advantage of the Account Key, which uses push notifications to provide secure access to one’s account from the Yahoo Messenger mobile app. It frees subscribers from memorising complicated passwords and makes signing-in as easy as tapping a button.

Starting from today, Yahoo Messenger will be available globally via the Apple App Store and Google Play as well as on the Web. Yahoo Messenger in Yahoo Mail on the desktop is rolling out simultaneously. While currently only in English, the apps but will be available in local languages soon.