Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger is everywhere. It’s available as an app for mobile phones and can be used from any web browser, but if you want to connect with family, friends and other people on your Windows computer, you might be interested in the dedicated and full-featured instant messaging (IM) client we offer you here as a free download.

Yahoo! Messenger is a freeware application annex protocol provided by Yahoo and only requires using a Yahoo ID which also gives you access to additional services, such as Yahoo Mail for example.

Yahoo! Messenger | a full-featured instant messaging client

The Windows version of the Yahoo! Messenger client is by far the most complete one. The communication features encompass instant messaging, photo sharing, PC-to-PC calls, SMS text messaging, webcam, IM conferencing, IM with people on other networks and file transfer. The productivity features are the following: IM forwarding to mobile, contact search bar, Yahoo search, Yahoo Address Book, stealth and privacy settings, Yahoo mail alerts, voicemail, message archiving, tabbed IM windows, buzz alert and Yahoo updates. The last category of features is the fun and personalisation one, encompassing plugins, audibles, emoticons, displaying images, skins, IMVironments, Yahoo games, custom status messages, custom ringtones, customisable fonts and colours, sound effects and soundtrack during voice calls.

Advanced voice and phone options with Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger will not only allow you to make free PC-to-PC voice calls with worldwide contacts, but you can also call mobile phones, as well as place calls to regular landlines. Furthermore, you might even configure it to forward calls to your landline or mobile phone. Moreover, you could even get an additional phone number using the Yahoo Voice Phone service. The latter might be given to family and friends for example.

Yahoo! Messenger | a special environment for your IM conversations

The IMVs or IMVironments are a unique feature that enables Yahoo! Messenger users to add an interactive background to their conversations. There’s a wide range of such environments available as downloads, encompassing the following categories: Animals and Nature, Beauty and Fashion, Comics and Characters, Interactive Fun, Love and Friendship, Purple, Sports and Games, and Yahoo Tools.

As such, this feature allows you to really create a special virtual environment for your online IM experience with another person.

Some Yahoo! Messenger history and new features

Yahoo! Messenger is around since the end of the nineties and has grown over the years to become a versatile application, offering IMVironments which allow for customised looks of the IM windows, custom status messages, address book integration, buzzing and showing information about the music you’re listening to as your status message. The latter two features have been introduced by Yahoo! Messenger by the way.

The latest version of Yahoo! Messenger comes with added file sending and voicemail capabilities, enabling you to share files up to 2GB. This IM client's basic functionality can also be extended by user-created plugins, it enables listening to both free and paid internet radio services using an official Yahoo Music Radio plugin featuring basic player functionality, it supports using the webcam service enabling worldwide users to see user webcams.

An additional advantage of installing the local Yahoo! Messenger client is the fact automatically additional functionality will become available in some web browsers, enabling you to use specific YM-related commands annex links encoded in web pages, for example to add a friend, call a Yahoo ID or a phone number, send an IM message, among others.