The Android and iOS Blink apps will be shut down in the coming weeks

May 14, 2014 09:10 GMT  ·  By

Yahoo has made a big purchase, the company announced. The latest company targeted by Mayer’s team is Blink, a mobile app that provides a service similar to Snapchat.

“We’re excited to announce that as of May 13, 2014 Blink is joining Yahoo! We built Blink because we believe everyone should be free to show the same honesty and spontaneity in their online conversations as they can in person. We look forward to the possibilities that will come from bringing the Blink vision to Yahoo,” Blink’s founders write on the company’s blog.

The tool enables users to send texts, pictures, and audio that come with a self-destruct timer, effectively providing a way for people to keep their messages secret from prying eyes.

Unfortunately for the tens of thousands of users, Blink will be shutting down its Android and iOS apps, in a move that has become typical for Yahoo-bought startups.

Yahoo has confirmed that the team from Blink will be joining Yahoo’s smart communication products unit in California. Blink is one of over 40 companies that have been acquired since Marissa Mayer became Yahoo CEO and the list continues to grow.

Yahoo has been trying to expand in a number of new areas. Aside from the services it has already been offering, the Internet giant has sought to become more mobile. One of the main reasons for the move is the increasing interest in mobile tools from customers everywhere, while another is the dollar signs Yahoo sees in this area due to the huge sums invested in mobile advertising.

It’s unclear at this point just what exactly Yahoo is hoping to do now that it has acquihired Blink and how it’s going to use the technology it paid millions for. Perhaps one of the areas where Yahoo hopes to use the new purchase is Yahoo Messenger, a tool that was once used by a large number of people, but which has been lagging behind.

Testimony to the fact that Yahoo has forgotten about Messenger and that people aren’t all that interested in it anymore is the fact that the last update to the tool was provided back in 2012, since around the time Mayer joined the company. Not only does this show that Messenger is no longer a priority, but also indicates a certain level of indifference towards users’ online safety and security.

Only time will tell which way Yahoo is going to go with this tool and with the purchase of Blink.