Yahoo's Livetext video messaging app is dead
It’s no secret that Yahoo is struggling in the present Web and mobile climate. Already, the company has carried out cuts across its workforce. And now, it has made the decision to “sunset” several of its products, most notably the short-lived video messaging app Livetext.
RIP Yahoo Livetext
Yahoo Livetext was introduced in late July 2015
Just seven months after its launch to considerable fanfare, Yahoo Livetext is now set to shut down.
We are shutting down Livetext at the end of March 2016. Livetext allowed us to experiment with new user experiences and features to drive innovations across our products. We plan to incorporate the learnings and features into Yahoo products including Yahoo Messenger, our core messaging platform.
- YahooDownload the official iOS app of Yahoo's not-defunct messaging service
What was Livetext anyway?
Well, Livetext was Yahoo’s attempt at offering the Snapchat generation a new take on video messaging. It essentially enabled users to text each other while live video is being streamed between them. The key differentiator is that there’s no audio involved.
Indeed, Livetext wasn’t meant to take on the likes of Facetime and Skype, which support audio as well as video. But while some might have found the app’s concept interesting enough to try and continue using it, most saw nothing in it but a mere novelty — something that offered little to no additional value to video chat in the absence of the “chat” component.
Learn more about how Livetext worked ... or didn't work
Livetext has been pulled by Yahoo from the App Store. But if you previously downloaded the app and still have it on your iPhone, you can continue using the app until the end of this month.
RIP other Yahoo products
Aside from Livetext, a few other Yahoo products are set to shut down soon. Yahoo Games will be discontinued by May 13; Yahoo’s BOSS JSON Search API, BOSS Hosted Search, and BOSS Placefinder and Placespotter APIs will no longer be supported by March 13; and certain Yahoo Regional Media Properties will be terminated in the coming weeks.
Yahoo says that the closures are in line with its ongoing restructuring, which focuses on the company’s seven core consumer products: Search, Mail, Tumblr, News, Sports, Finance, and Lifestyle.
Check out the iOS apps for Yahoo's core consumer products