Yahoo Answers is shutting down after 16 years

Yahoo Answers, one of the oldest question-and-answer platforms on the internet, is shutting down after 16 years.

According to Yahoo, members of the Q&A platform won't be able to post new questions and answers beginning April 20. On May 4th, Yahoo Answers will cease to exist and users who will try to access the platform will be directed to Yahoo's homepage.

The company, which was bought by the VerizonMedia Group for $5 billion in 2017, also sent a note to its members explaining why the platform is closing down.

"We launched Yahoo Answers sixteen years ago to help people around the world connect and share information. With you and millions of other users, we built the best place on the web to ask and answer questions on a variety of topics, creating a community of global knowledge sharing. While we could not have been prouder of what we accomplished together, we are reaching out today to let you know that we have decided to shut down Yahoo Answers on May 4th, 2021," it said.

Yahoo explained that the platform is shutting down because its popularity declined over the course of its 16-year reign on the internet. Since its debut in 2005, Yahoo Answers inevitably became less popular compared to other Q&A platforms like Reddit and Quora as well as search engine sites like Google. 

"While Yahoo Answers was once a key part of Yahoo's products and services, it has become less popular over the years as the needs of our members have changed. To that end, we have decided to shift our resources away from Yahoo Answers to focus on products that better serve our member and deliver on Yahoo's promise of providing premium trusted content," Yahoo said.

Meanwhile, those who would like to request for their data have until June 30th to do so. After that deadline, Yahoo will delete all data on the platform, including user-generated content such as the users' questions list, questions, answers list, answers, and any images.