Yahoo has been in the news multiple times over the past 24 hours, which is notable considering the company doesn’t get nearly the amount of attention it used to.
They have acquired a rising social startup and removed some features from their services that allow you to sign in with a Facebook or Google account. Here are some more details on each of these stories.
Yahoo Acquires Vizify
The announcement was made yesterday by Vizify that they have been acquired by Yahoo. Vizify is a startup that allows users to create infographics and videos out of social media data. As a result of the acquisition, Vizify will be shutting down their service and are reportedly “excited to bring a more visual approach to data at Yahoo.”
Going forward they will not be allowing new signups or purchases of their premium service. Vizify intends to do right by customers who signed up for paid plans by issuing full refunds and providing instructions on how to assume ownership of domains purchased through Vizify.
Yahoo Removes Facebook And Google Log-In Options
Yahoo also announced yesterday they will stop letting users sign into their services, like Flickr, using Facebook and Google accounts. These changes will be rolled out gradually, which means going forward users will have to register for a Yahoo ID in order to use Yahoo services.
According to a statement by Yahoo this change has been made for the benefit of its users:
Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience… [the new sign-in process] will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone.
The Yahoo spokeswoman also said the sign-in buttons for Facebook and Google will eventually be removed from all Yahoo properties, though a timeframe was not provided.
Featured Image Credit: Screenshot taken March 2014
