Yahoo is bringing back its instant messaging client service called 'Yahoo Messenger' which was popular in the late '90s and early 2000s. The web-based Yahoo Messenger will be porting to its new platform as a new messaging application for iOS and Android devices.

The company is moving Yahoo Messenger to the popular operating system nowadays. According to Yahoo, they will still continue to support the older web-based Yahoo Messenger for the next couple of months but it will be eventually replaced with the new service.

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The new Yahoo Messenger application is similar to popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Basically, to use this app, users need to log in their phone number or Yahoo Mail account. The application will automatically scan user's contacts for a person who also uses the same app. User who use the legacy version of Yahoo Messenger or connect to Yahoo Mail account will automatically sync the contacts from those services.

The application features a built-in GIF search via Tumblr. It is also capable of sharing large numbers of photos regardless of whether users are on Wi-Fi or a data connection via Flickr. Users of this application can like individual messages within a thread or unsend a message they sent at any time.

Aside from iOS and Android compatibility, the application also supports a web app that will appear in the Yahoo Mail on desktop, similar to the functionality of Google Hangouts within Gmail.

Austin Shoemaker, senior director of product management of Yahoo Messenger, told Mashable that the company is planning to add many features in future updates, such as combining the new Messenger into more Yahoo services.

"We built this not just as a single app but as a platform that allows messaging to be integrated with other products in Yahoo. There are a lot of other Yahoo properties that could benefit from adding a lightweight communication layer," says Shoemaker.

Yahoo previously released an app similar to Snapchat called Livetext, which is capable of combining ephemeral messages and live video.

TagsYahoo update, Yahoo, yahoo messenger, messaging apps, Messaging service, WhatsApp