yahoo answers homework help

• Internet Culture

Yahoo Answers is dead, but its weird and amusing legacy lives on

What Yahoo Answers was supposed to be, what it became, and what remains.

It's over. On May 4, Yahoo Answers went offline , putting an end to one of the weirdest, oldest and least organized communities of crowdsourced questions and answers. The site's seemingly endless parade of user-submitted queries ranged from intriguing thought experiments (from the likes of Stephen Hawking , no less) to the absurdity of someone asking the community, "What did my dad just say to me?"

Why do you think anybody on the internet would know this?

Yahoo Answers became notorious as a home for a very specific brand of chaos. Some questions became famous memes unto themselves . Others became standards on "top ten funniest" Yahoo Answers questions. The community became a rich mine of material for YouTube comedians, even PewDiePie . Famous podcasters used Yahoo Answers as a source for inspiration too: Dissecting weird questions was a regular segment on My Brother, My Brother and Me . 

Yahoo Answers had a legacy. Just not the one it was designed to have.

What Yahoo Answers was supposed to be 

When Yahoo launched its question-and-answer platform in 2005, becoming a mainstay of internet comedy wasn't part of the plan. The company billed the service as "a place where people can ask each other questions on any topic, and get answers by sharing facts, opinions and personal experiences." Even so, Yahoo Answers didn't exist for its own sake -- it was created to help bolster Yahoo Search results. 

It can be easy to forget how influential Yahoo once was. It was a big company with social communities, email, directories and, of course, the biggest search engine in the world. In 2005, however it was facing fierce competition. The hope was that Yahoo Answers could make the company's search engine better by offering users millions of crowdsourced answers to any question they might have. 

A tech support classic.

"Long term, Answers has the potential to attract incremental users, increase time spent on the Yahoo! Platform," Lehman Brothers analyst Douglas Anmuth told Forbes shortly after the service launched , "and create monetization opportunities through additional sponsored links and page views." 

Yahoo Answers was never really about the answers, which could be why the service was best known for the questions its users asked. 

What Yahoo Answers became

Regardless of what Yahoo Answers was designed to be, it's best known for the surprising and ridiculous questions people asked it. In fact, before news broke of the shutdown, most searches for Yahoo Answers on Google, YouTube and other platforms brought back lists of absurd and amusing ponderings.

There are dozens of comedy videos mocking Yahoo Answers' weirdest questions, and teasing these often too-personal questions will forever be a part of the service's legacy. Despite the jokes, the platform actually got kind of close to what it was designed to be. More earnest searches could lead you to awkward, but innocent questions about growing up and human development -- possibly the queries of those too embarrassed to ask their parents. Lots of users were seeking household repair tips and tech support. 

Some questions were just students trying to get the internet to "help" with their homework.

When you really didn't feel like doing your own homework, Yahoo Answers was there.

Although the platform was devised to augment Yahoo's search engine, the site's features helped it find its own weird identity once that searchable trove of knowledge became less of a priority for the company. Question askers could pick the best response to any given question, which would help the person writing that answer earn points to level up in an internal ranking system. The points and level didn't actually do anything, but it helped create a sense of community. That sense of community is one of the things that made Yahoo Answers interesting. When it launched in late 2005, it debuted alongside many of today's internet giants. Facebook and Reddit were both still in their infancy, and Twitter was only months away. Yahoo Answers wasn't built to compete with any of these networks, but it filled some similar roles. At a time when users online were moving away from traditional message board systems and chat rooms, Yahoo Answers was there -- serving as a half-step between the internet communities of the late 1990s and the social media empires that were about to take over the web.

Some Yahoo Answers users were just trying to learn about growing up.

It's one aspect of the service that survived to the end. Browsing Yahoo Answers' categories in its final days still surfaced plenty of standard questions seeking answers ("Can u write on money," or "How do I get a grease stain out of concrete"), but you could also find the same discussions you'd expect on Reddit. These range from new parents asking in the parenting forum what people thought of the name of their child, or political partisans debating the latest headlines in the politics and news sections. 

Yahoo Answers and the internet afterlife

After May 4, the Yahoo question-and-answer service will go the way of GeoCities . There'll be no official attempts to preserve or archive the service. Unless an outside group takes action, Yahoo Answers' millions of questions -- chaotic, hilarious and sublime -- will be lost to time. 

Fortunately, this is the internet, where there's always someone happy to preserve a bizarre database of terrible spelling and weird questions -- even if it might not be worth saving. When Yahoo announced it was shutting the service down, Gizmodo wrote that it created a script that would archive 84 million Yahoo Answers questions to the Internet Archive, but admitted that it would take two years to complete the process. Fortunately, a group called Archive Team started a similar project back in 2016 . 

A large portion of Yahoo Answers' publicly available questions are already backed up, and the team has made archiving the rest their "warrior project" focus for spring 2021. For better or worse, Yahoo Answers' weird legacy will be preserved on the Internet Archive . 

Unfortunately, the archived pages' search function doesn't currently work, but at least we'll always have all those MBMBAM segments . 

Insight: Saying goodbye to Yahoo Answers

'the legacy yahoo answers left was one of chaos and confusion, but i lived for the incredibly specific kind of help that can be difficult to find elsewhere'.

“The often frequented site for jokes, memes, trolls and occasionally, a real helpful answer.” Illustration published on Monday, Apr. 19, 2021.

On May 4, Yahoo Answers will be shutting down and deleting its archives, joining the ranks of Limewire and MySpace – other casualties of the internet age. 

I'll be the first to admit I will miss the "knowledge-sharing platform," which launched in 2005 and has become well known for its absurd, yet occasionally helpful questions and answers. 

For me, there was nothing that couldn't be solved under the site's comforting glow of white and purple. No matter how bored or confused I was, Yahoo Answers had a solution. 

It feels odd to say, but strangers online provided me with some of my favorite content on the internet over the years. Despite users' potential real-life worries, I loved seeing them flock in crisis to Yahoo Answers, desperately trying to figure out if they were pregnant, or as some wrote "gregnant” and "pregante." 

The impact of this website was truly monumental — for many, it was a source for homework and life advice, healthy debate and memes. The site's reputation is chaotic to say the least, but its anonymity made it a judgment-free zone. 

Over the years, the internet liked to laugh at the digital wanderers who found solace on Yahoo Answers.  

But nothing was too ridiculous to ask because chances are, it had already been asked. If you wanted to know whether or not to invest in cryptocurrency or if the Queen of England can remarry, someone on Yahoo Answers had your back. 

For some, Yahoo Answers was a haven for like-minded students to communicate with each other on difficult topics for various academic subjects.

Yoga Sastriawan, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, said he was sad to see a community that took the same classes as he does disappear — a community that has helped him immensely throughout his major. He said the benefit of Yahoo Answers was that he could get specific help on concepts and equations, rather than unethically sourcing homework answers from platforms such as Chegg.

Aside from school-based questions, the website specialized in answers to anything, no matter how unique.

rip yahoo answers, the only place on earth where I've seen King Arthur referenced as a Shrek 3 character pic.twitter.com/7yj2jkUOEH — Red Bard (Kennedy) (@RedBardIsCool) April 12, 2021

Divya Ganesan, a freshman studying biomedical engineering, said she will miss the "the security blanket" of Yahoo Answers. She said although she knows other platforms have a Q&A format to ask questions, remaining anonymous was helpful.

In its youth, Yahoo Answers was a treasure trove of information. 

Whenever I was seeking advice, there was without a doubt someone in my exact situation seeking the same answer. And from that one query, I would be led down a rabbit hole that I had no business being invested in. 

I could have been looking to see why My Chemical Romance had broken up, and an hour later I would end up on questions for parenting advice. This website fostered sheer curiosity inside and encouraged my need to leave no stone unturned. 

Now, if I need to know something, I will not be happy until I’ve found an answer. And I thank Yahoo Answers for my persistence.  

Yahoo Answers could answer everything, and once it had done that, there would be another debate, another question and another hyper-specific situation in need of a solution. Louis Moon, a freshman studying biomedical engineering, said while some of this information can be found elsewhere, the site's accessibility was one of its strengths.

“For (Yahoo Answers), to get rid of a whole forum is kind of sad to see because it’s almost like burning down the Library of Alexandria in a way — it’s a lot of information just gone now,” Moon said.

Yahoo made its mark in making the internet more accessible, but after 15 years, its Q&A format has lost its steam. 

Now, even having a Yahoo email address seems old-fashioned. While Yahoo Answers may no longer be in vogue, I can say with 100% certainty I will miss this beautiful mess of a website. 

The legacy Yahoo Answers left was one of chaos and confusion, but I lived for the incredibly specific kind of help that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] and follow @sophiabala1101 on Twitter. 

Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter. 

Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Sophia Balasubramanian currently serves as the Diversity Officer for the State Press. She previously worked on the Echo as an editor and reporter.

• [email protected]

Opinion: Soundtracks are the key to a quality movie in the 21st century

ASU hires Jamea Jackson as next women's tennis coach

ASU hires Graham Rossini as new athletic director

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy .

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help websites (free and paid).

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

• Entertainment

Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

• All Categories
• Education & Reference

Homework Help

Your criteria doesn't match any questions.

Yahoo Answers Is Being Shut Down, Finally, After 15 Long Years

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Avoiding the News? 5 Alternative Ways to Keep Up With Current Affairs

Food delivery apps are using ai images: this is how you spot them, 4 free methods to remove watermarks from pdfs.

Yahoo Answers, the long-standing site that was once a bustling hub for millions of queries, is getting shuttered. While the site will be officially shut down on May 4, 2021, users will have until June 30 to request and download their data from the site.

Yahoo Answers Will Stop Taking Questions on April 20

Before the days of Quora, Yahoo Answers was the go-to platform for just about any question, whether it had to do with relationships, pet care, or even a question you were struggling with on your homework. The platform's once vibrant community volunteered answers that varied in helpfulness, ranging from completely useless to near-scholarly reports.

Now, the site's 15 year long reign is coming to an end. A report by The Verge  pointed out a FAQ page on Yahoo's site , which states that Yahoo Answers will be transitioned to a read-only state on April 20, and will then be taken off the web altogether on May 4. If you try to visit Yahoo Answers after the closing date, you'll be redirected to the Yahoo homepage.

Related:  Don't Call It a Comeback: "Yahoo+" May Soon Be a Thing

The same FAQ page also includes some information for existing users, such as how you can download your data from Yahoo Answers. If you want to preserve your questions and answers from over the years, you have to request this data from Yahoo before June 30, 2021.

Yahoo notes that it will take up to 30 days to process your request, and once ready, it will be downloadable in JSON format. You can find out more about downloading your Yahoo Answers content from Yahoo's Help Center page.

As for why Yahoo Answers is getting shut down, it has to do with dwindling usage. In a message sent to current Yahoo Answers users, Yahoo writes:

While Yahoo Answers war once a key part of Yahoo’s products and services, it has become less popular over the years as the needs of our members have changed. To that end, we have decided to shift our resources away from Yahoo Answers to focus on products that better serve our members and deliver on Yahoo’s promise of providing premium trusted content.

But for now, Yahoo Answers is still usable, so get your burning questions answered while you still can!

Yahoo Answers and the End of an Era

Since 2005, Yahoo Answers has been a staple Q&A site. Answers may have decreased in quality over the years, but there's no doubt that it had an impact on similar platforms like Quora.

But we have to admit—we'll miss the long-winded rants, widespread trolling, and the occasional intelligent responses that Yahoo Answers became known for.

• Shop Early Amazon Prime Day Deals
• I Tried Both: Ring vs Nest Doorbell

How Yahoo Answers Shaped the Way We Use the Internet

The end of an era

• Southern Illinois University

• University of Maryland Baltimore County
• Mobile Phones
• Internet & Security
• Computers & Tablets
• Tech Leaders
• Home Theater & Entertainment
• Software & Apps
• Social Media
• Women in Gaming

Key Takeaways

• Yahoo Answers is shutting down after 15 years. 
• In its heyday, Yahoo Answers helped connect strangers, provide answers to questions we all have, and gave us some laughs. 
• At its worst, experts say it led to misinformation and bullying.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

After 15 years of providing the internet with endless humor and the answers to our burning questions, Yahoo Answers will shut down on May 4. 

Long before Reddit became the front page of the internet or Quora was the go-to answer forum, Yahoo Answers provided an entire generation with a sense of community through shared questions. Though the service experienced both good and bad times, experts say this truly marks the end of an internet era. 

"Yahoo Answers were a remnant of a time that is already well behind us; a time when search results weren’t Google search results by default when they were a lifelike mix of human knowledge, curiosity, and ignorance," wrote Mark Coster, owner and chief editor of STEM Toy Expert , to Lifewire in an email. 

At its core, Yahoo Answers helped people find solutions to their problems or questions, whether it was finding out how to work a lawnmower or more of the now-viral questions like "What happen when get pergenat?" or "How do you make a weeji board?" 

Alex Perkins, the co-founder of All the Stuff , described Yahoo Answers as "a sanctuary for the confused."

There wasn’t an omniscient, AI-powered algorithm that would sift through websites and serve you the most relevant ones (or the highest bidders, for that matter).

"It was a place where you could ask anything, even the weirdest of questions that people were probably too afraid to ask in real life," Perkins wrote to Lifewire in an email.

"Way before there were Snapchat and TikTok, it was Yahoo Answers that provided us with this amazing window into the life of other people."

Others say Yahoo Answers was one of the first, and possibly the last, positive community spaces of the internet before social media turned online communities into trolling, misinformation, and comparing yourself to others. 

"The original intention and creation of [Yahoo Answers], well could be described as base-good," wrote Erin Staples, a community builder for Journ Beauty . 

"We came together to reach out, help one another out, regardless of where one may be in life.  The intention and purpose of this little online forum was to help one another out.”

And, of course, the site proved to be comedy gold when you open up the ability to ask any question you want to the internet.

This sense of community brought together by questions and comedy signifies the end of an era, according to Coster. Even though there are now sites like Quora and Reddit, these wouldn’t exist without Yahoo Answers. 

"Unlike Quora, you couldn’t find marketers [on Yahoo Answers] who would answer your question so they could squeeze in a link to a product or service," he said. 

"There wasn’t an omniscient, AI-powered algorithm that would sift through websites and serve you the most relevant ones (or the highest bidders, for that matter)."

However, since it required no expertise, Yahoo Answers often led to ignorance, misinformation, and trolling. Before cyberbullying and trolling were even coined terms, Yahoo Answers was one of the first online spaces to allow these things to happen, paving the way for an entire culture of online bullies to thrive.

"I remember Yahoo Answers being used as an early form of cyberbullying when I was in high school," wrote Fraser Barker, editor at Wilderness Redefined , to Lifewire. 

Scott Barbour / Getty Images

"Some kids would post mean questions about others and share it around the school." 

And while the posts like, "Can you get pregnant from a hot tub?" are fun to laugh at, Simone Dyankoff, a public relations manager at My Speech Class , said that these types of questions were very telling of the failure of the education system. 

"[Yahoo Answers] exposed glaring holes in reproductive health education, mental health support, and counseling in schools," Dyankoff wrote to Lifewire in an email. 

However, as flawed and outdated as it might have been, Yahoo Answers will forever go down as an important part of the internet, and it will be missed. 

"It was definitely a huge part of our internet culture," Perkins added. "Now we'll never know the title of that song that goes da daaa da da daaa."

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• Internet Trolling: How Do You Spot a Real Troll?
• Yahoo! Messenger: What Was It & Why Did It Shut Down?
• 10 Best Web Search Tricks Everyone Should Know
• What Is YouChat?
• Ask Questions Online With These Question and Answer Sites
• What Happened to SnagFilms?
• The Top Social News Sites to Check Out
• Internet 101: Beginners Quick Reference Guide
• What Is Yahoo?
• Windows Updates & Patch Tuesday FAQ
• What Is Ghosting?
• Why Google Bard in Search May Mean You Can No Longer Trust Results
• 10 of the Top Current Trends on the Internet
• Got Questions? ChatGPT May Be Better Than Google for Many Straight Answers
• 5 Online Dating Red Flags You Shouldn't Ignore
• Why We Prefer People Over Chatbots

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Pop Culture

Au revoir, yahoo answers.

Ailsa Chang

Audie Cornish

Sam Yellowhorse Kesler

Yahoo! Answers shut down Tuesday after nearly 16 years of inquiries from the internet's curious minds. As a final send-off, NPR gets to the bottom of some of these important questions.

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Free Websites for Question-and-Answer Homework Help Online

 Hero Images/Getty Images

• Homework Tips
• Learning Styles & Skills
• Study Methods
• Time Management
• Private School
• College Admissions
• College Life
• Graduate School
• Business School
• Distance Learning

• M.A., Education, Claremont Graduate University
• B.A., English, Brigham Young University

Online classes are convenient, but they usually don’t offer the support of a traditional university. If you find yourself wishing you had a tutor to guide you through a difficult math problem or essay question, free websites offer you the ability to ask questions and get answers online. 

Yahoo! Answers

Yahoo! Answers lets users ask questions and receive answers from fellow users. Topics include arts and the humanities, science, and mathematics, and education and reference. Users who provide answers receive points based on their responses. Almost all questions receive a quick answer. Many responders seem to be young, so be prepared for quips along with helpful responses. 

Hippo Campus

HippoCampus delivers videos, animations, and simulations on general education subjects to middle-school and high-school teachers. Students can use the site for homework and exam preparation. Users don't need to register or log in. HippoCampus is powered by The NROC Project, a nonprofit, member-driven group focused on new models of digital content development, distribution, and use.

Answerology

Answerology users can answer each other's questions and form “Question Groups” that track the questions on a homework topic. Questions and answers tend to be more social than academic but would be useful in essays. 

Ask a Librarian

This Library of Congress service lets students ask questions and receive emailed responses from librarians. The site asks users to avoid sending homework questions, though it can be used for research issues. Answers are typically sent within five business days. Some topics offer online chat. A virtual reference shelf also is provided.

Free Math Help

This site, launched in 2002, typically sees more than a million visitors a month during the school year. Everything on the site is free , supported by advertising, though some links take you to fee-based sites.

Ask Philosophers

Hosted by the University of Amherst , this site allows users to ask philosophical questions and receive responses from philosophers. Answers are posted within a few days. The website warns submissions won't be posted if they're unintelligible, vague, clearly scientific, concern a personal problem, or have other issues. You can search to see if your question has already been answered.

Ask a Linguist​

Questions are answered on the website by linguistics students and faculty at Indiana University's Linguistics Department . Responses focus on language and language analysis regarding issues with substantial linguistic content or content of wide interest within the discipline.

Ask a Geologist

Email questions about earth sciences to this site, and United States Geological Survey scientists will respond if your homework question is among the 88 percent answered. Include the word "Question" in the subject line. USGS scientists have responded since 1994 but won't answer test questions, write reports, answer questions with direct financial impacts, recommend products or companies, or identify rocks from photos. 

Go Ask Alice!

Questions to the site, hosted by Columbia University’s health department , are answered by health care professionals, information and research specialists, and writers. Team members have advanced degrees in fields such as public health, health education, medicine, and counseling. The site came online in 1994; 20 years later, more than 4 million people were visiting monthly.

• How to Ask and Answer Basic English Questions
• 6 Best Learn-to-Code Resources Online
• Resources for Finding Answers to Chemistry Questions
• Miranda Rights Questions and Answers
• 8 Common Questions Parents Ask Teachers
• Top 5 Free Online ACT Prep Courses
• How to Email Professors at Prospective Grad Schools
• 6 Free MCAT Question of the Day Services
• Density Test Questions
• The Importance of Answering Questions in Complete Sentences
• The Yes-No Question in English Grammar
• Job Interview Questions and Answers
• 9 Common Medical School Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
• Delivering Sites and Project Files to Clients
• Choosing a Website for Your Video Blog
• Questions to Ask During Your Medical School Interview

Use and manage Yahoo Account Key

Use Account Key to access your Yahoo account more securely by approving access with your smartphone. Find out how to manage Account Key and how to disable it.

Fix issues with Yahoo Account Key

Account Key boosts security by sending a prompt to your mobile phone instead of using a password. Explore this guide to fix any issues that may come up.

Fix issues with Yahoo verification codes and links

Yahoo protects your account by using a secure and personalized verification code or URL. Learn what to do if you don't receive it or it doesn't work.

Why are devices listed when I use Account Key to sign in?

During a security review, you'll see a list of associated push-enabled mobile devices. Learn more about why they're listed and how to disconnect them.

Was this article helpful?

Please tell us why you didn't find this helpful.

Thank you! Your feedback has successfully been submitted.

You have been redirected to this page because the page you requested was not found.

Fix problems signing into your Yahoo account

If you're having trouble signing into your Yahoo account, don't give up just yet! Know how to identify and correct common sign-in issues like problems with your password and ID, account locks, looping logins, and other account access errors.

Tips to create a strong password

Creating a strong password is the easiest and most critical way to make sure your account stays secure. Learn how to protect yourself online by using our password tips.

Reset or change your Yahoo password

Your Yahoo password gives you access to every Yahoo service you use. Learn how to reset your password if you forget it, and how to change your password. It's a good idea to update your password regularly and to make sure it's unique from other passwords you use.

Why am I asked to verify my account after signing in?

If there's something unusual about your sign in or recent activity, we'll ask you to go through another verification step after you've entered the correct password. This helps protect your account from unauthorized access. Learn what can cause these prompts and what to expect.

Fix mobile sign in problems

Mobile apps and browsers let you use your favorite Yahoo services while on the go, but only if you're signed in. Find out how to fix problems logging in on your phone or tablet.

Why do I have to sign in when 'Keep me signed in' is selected?

Staying signed in to your Yahoo account allows for quick, convenient access to all your favorite Yahoo services. Discover why you may be asked to sign in again.

Why do I have to change my Yahoo password?

By creating a new password, your personal info remains secured from intruders and imposters. Find out why Yahoo prompts you to update your password and discover tips on how to keep your account secure.

Locate a forgotten Yahoo ID

If you forgot what your Yahoo ID is, find it with our Sign-in Helper. Learn how to find your Yahoo ID.

Fix issues with Yahoo verification codes and links

Yahoo protects your account by using a secure and personalized verification code or URL. Learn what to do if you don't receive it or it doesn't work.

Sign in or out of Yahoo

Sign in to your Yahoo, Rocketmail, or Ymail account from anywhere you access your favorite Yahoo services. Find out how to get in to and out of your account.

Was this article helpful?

Please tell us why you didn't find this helpful.

Thank you! Your feedback has successfully been submitted.

You have been redirected to this page because the page you requested was not found.

• View all journals

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts

Get the Homework Help You Need

It's okay if you need some homework help. Everybody needs it at times. Be it math homework help or any other type, it's okay to seek out professional help. You can get help at all times. You can see different websites that offer you a great opportunity to get the help you need. You can now always find the best help online and it won't cost you nearly as much as you thought it would. The biggest thing that turns people off from using these types of services is the price. Everybody seems to think that paying for it is ridiculous.

Well, you're going to be so glad that you read this text because we're going to tell you this - my homework help services are really reasonably priced. You won't have to spend a lot of money to get the help you need. Some of our services include personal tutoring services, on-the-spot help, offline help, MATLAB homework help, and beyond. There are many options for different kinds of students and all are extremely beneficial. They also offer individual study services that take the burden off of you in a big way. You can receive offline tutoring in your area so that there are no future issues with the homework at all.

Pick Your Homework Help Web Site Wisely

It's a difficult process - picking which website suits your needs the best. However, it can be done and that's what we want you to do. You will have to conduct your own research before settling on a site that works best for you. You will have to examine third-party sources that review such services, you will have to go through client reviews, there are many elements that you need to take into account before going forward with any of the homework services out there. You'll definitely need to find out whether or not the site is legitimate and the overall quality of the help. You need to ask yourself if everything sounds legit to you.

My Homework Help is On the Way

Hopefully, this encouraged you to seek out the help you needed. The more homework there is, the easier it is to get lost in the shuffle. You need help. Asking your friends for help does not count as homework help. There are other sources out there to help you out!

I’ve witnessed the wonders of the deep sea. Mining could destroy them

World View 25 JUL 23

ChatGPT broke the Turing test — the race is on for new ways to assess AI

News Feature 25 JUL 23

The global fight for critical minerals is costly and damaging

Editorial 19 JUL 23

Pangenomics: prioritize diversity in collaborations

Correspondence 25 JUL 23

Pack up the parachute: why global north–south collaborations need to change

Career Feature 24 JUL 23

Industry: a poor record for whistle-blowers

Correspondence 18 JUL 23

Dementia risk linked to blood-protein imbalance in middle age

News 21 JUL 23

What does ‘brain dead’ really mean? The battle over how science defines the end of life

News Feature 11 JUL 23

Lab mice go wild: making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain

News Feature 14 JUN 23

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Your Daily Work Horoscope for June 26, 2024

Your Daily Work Horoscope for June 26, 2024. Discover your Daily Work Horoscope for each zodiac sign here.

You could feel emotionally riled up throughout the day, but it won't be for the reasons you think. Try not to take it out on others, even the most deserving and obnoxious coworkers.

Even if you think your work relationships are humming along smoothly, there are still small gestures you can make to improve communication and productivity. Fine-tune where it matters.

The deeper you get into it, the more you will understand. Whatever it may be, that big mystery is becoming clearer to you. Keep probing, even if you're not exactly sure what step to take next.

You're experiencing a surge of positive energy, but take care when entering any long-term agreements. There will certainly be more to them than you expect. Be prepared for consequences.

You'll need to turn your attention away from customers and coworkers just for a little while to take care of the business piled up in your workspace. It won't take long. Discover why 2022 is the year you've been waiting for with your 2022 Premium Horoscope

Though you know that you need to focus on the work already on your plate, you also want to reach out and network with coworkers and colleagues from all over the world. Strike a balance.

You're in the mood to acquire new assets, and it's a great time to get good deals. Spend time doing your homework. You will still need to be diligent about needs and cost-benefit analysis.

Your strengths will be out in the open, and you should easily draw people into your sphere of influence. It's the perfect time for sales of all kinds, recruitment, or even promotion.

Sagittarius

Your imagination will be especially active, so if it seems that you're not making any progress on your current projects, sit back and see if you can dream up some creative new solutions.

It might be hard for your workgroup to make spectacular progress right now, but you can put your talents to use by getting everyone organized to meet upcoming challenges and milestones.

You might feel as though you have said too much during a meeting with a supervisor, but later (maybe much later) you will see that your candidness was exactly what he situation called for.

Though you are stronger than you know right now, it will be hard to exert much force given the extreme fluidity of the situation. Try to flow with it and you will easily make progress. Make sure you're on the right path! Your Personalized Career Horoscope is waiting with answers for you.

Sonia’s AI chatbot steps in for therapists

Can chatbots replace human therapists? Some startups — and patients — claim that they can. But it’s not exactly settled science.

One study found that 80% of people who’ve used OpenAI’s ChatGPT for mental health advice consider it a good alternative to regular therapy, while a separate report found that chatbots can be effective in reducing certain symptoms related to depression and anxiety. On the other hand, it’s well-established that the relationship between therapist and client — the human connection, in other words — is among the best predictors of success in mental health treatment.

Three entrepreneurs — Dustin Klebe, Lukas Wolf and Chris Aeberli — are in the pro-chatbot therapy camp. Their startup, Sonia , offers an “AI therapist” that users can talk to or text with via an iOS app about a range of topics.

“To some extent, building an AI therapist is like developing a drug, in the sense that we are building a new technology as opposed to repackaging an existing one,” Aeberli, Sonia’s CEO, told TechCrunch in an interview.

The three met in 2018 while studying computer science at ETH Zürich and moved to the U.S. together to pursue graduate studies at MIT. Shortly after graduating, they reunited to launch a startup that could encapsulate their shared passion for scalable tech.

That startup became Sonia.

Sonia leverages a number of generative AI models to analyze what users say during “therapy sessions” in the app and respond to them. Applying techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, the app, which charges users $20 per month or $200 per year, gives “homework” aimed at driving home insights from conversations and visualizations designed to help identify top stressors.

Aeberli claims that Sonia, which hasn’t received FDA approval, can tackle issues ranging from depression, stress, and anxiety to relationship problems and poor sleep. For more serious scenarios, like people contemplating violence or suicide, Sonia has “additional algorithms and models” to detect “emergency situations” and direct users to national hotlines, Aeberli says.

Somewhat alarmingly, none of Sonia’s founders have backgrounds in psychology. But Aeberli says that the startup consults with psychologists, recently hired a cognitive psychology graduate, and is actively recruiting a full-time clinical psychologist.

“It is important to emphasize that we don’t consider human therapists, or any companies providing physical or virtual mental health care conducted by humans, as our competition,” Klebe said. “For every response that Sonia generates, there are about seven additional language model calls happening in the background to analyze the situation from several different therapeutic perspectives in order to adjust, optimize and personalize the therapeutical approach chosen by Sonia.”

What about privacy? Can users rest assured that their data isn’t being retained in a vulnerable cloud or used to train Sonia’s models without their knowledge?

Aeberli says Sonia is committed to storing only the “absolute minimum” amount of personal information to administer therapy: a user’s age and name. He didn’t address where, how, or for how long Sonia stores conversation data, however.

Sonia, which has around 8,000 users and $3.35 million in backing from investors, including Y Combinator, Moonfire, Rebel Fund and SBXi, is in talks with unnamed mental health organizations to provide Sonia as a resource through their online portals. The reviews for Sonia on the App Store are quite positive so far, with several users noting they find it easier to speak with the chatbot about their issues than a human therapist.

But is that a good thing?

Today’s chatbot tech is limited in the quality of advice it can give — and it might not pick up on subtler signs indicative of a problem, like an anorexic person asking how to lose weight. (Sonia wouldn’t even know the person’s weight.)

Chatbots’ responses are also colored with biases — often the Western biases reflected in their training data. As a result, they’re more likely to miss cultural and linguistic differences in the way a person expresses mental illnesses, particularly if English is that person’s second language. (Sonia only supports English.)

In the worst-case scenario, chatbots go off the rails. Last year , the National Eating Disorders Association came under fire for replacing humans with a chatbot, Tessa, that dispensed weight-loss tips that were triggering to people with eating disorders.

Klebe emphasized that Sonia isn’t trying to replace human therapists.

“We are building a solution for the millions of people who are struggling with their mental health but can’t (or don’t want to) access a human therapist,” Wolf said. “We aim to fill the gigantic gap between demand and supply.”

There’s certainly a gap — both in terms of the ratio of professionals to patients and the cost of treatments versus what most patients can afford. More than half of the U.S. doesn’t have adequate geographic access to mental care, according to a recent government report. And a recent survey found that 42% of U.S. adults with a mental health condition weren’t able to receive care because they couldn’t afford it.

A piece in Scientific American talks about therapy apps that cater to the “worried well,” or people who can afford therapy and app subscriptions, and not isolated individuals who might be most at risk but don’t know how to seek help. At $20 per month, Sonia isn’t exactly cheap — but Aeberli argues it’s cheaper than a typical therapy appointment.

“It’s a lot easier to start using Sonia than seeing a human therapist, which entails finding a therapist, being on the waitlist for four months, going there at a set time and paying $200,” he said. “Sonia has already seen more patients than a human therapist would see over the course of their entire career.”

I only hope that Sonia’s founders remain transparent about the issues that the app can and cannot address as they build it out.

More TechCrunch

Get the industry’s biggest tech news, techcrunch daily news.

Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.

Startups Weekly

Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.

TechCrunch Fintech

The latest Fintech news and analysis, delivered every Tuesday.

TechCrunch Mobility

TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.

Robotics investments are gaining speed after post-pandemic slowdown

The first six months of the year have seen $4.2 billion invested in robotics, putting this year well on track to beat 2023’s 12-month total of $6.8 billion.

Hebbia raises nearly $100M Series B for AI-powered document search led by Andreessen Horowitz

Hebbia, a startup using generative AI to search large documents and return answers, has raised a nearly $100 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people with…

Agility’s humanoid robots are going to handle your Spanx

Digit’s first job will be moving totes around a Connecticut Spanx factory — which is most definitely not a euphemism.

MagicSchool thinks AI in the classroom is inevitable, so it’s aiming to help teachers and students use it properly

These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a…

Zuckerberg disses closed-source AI competitors as trying to ‘create God’

In the conversation, Zuckerberg said there needs to be a lot of different AIs that get created to reflect people’s different interests.

Andrew Ng plans to raise $120M for next AI Fund

AI big shot Andrew Ng’s AI Fund, a startup incubator that backs small teams of experts looking to solve key problems using AI, plans to raise upward of $120 million…

VW taps Rivian in $5B EV deal and the fight over Fisker’s assets

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Am I…

FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

Specifically, according to the FCC, carriers would simply have to provide unlocking services 60 days after activation.

As battery startups fail, Sila snaps up $375M in new funding

Amid a fraught environment for battery startups, Sila has raised $375 million to finish construction of a U.S. factory that will scale its next-generation battery technology for customers like Mercedes-Benz…

Startups scramble to assess fallout from Evolve Bank data breach

Fintech-friendly Evolve Bank disclosed a data breach, saying it may have impacted customers and partners.

Meta starts testing user-created AI chatbots on Instagram

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday that the company will begin to surface AI characters made by creators through Meta AI studio on Instagram. The tests will begin in…

Rondo Energy funding shows a new way across the climate startup ‘valley of death’

Climate tech startups especially those building hardware, face a particular challenge when trying to move beyond the prototype or pilot phase and start selling finished products to customers.

Amazon consolidates Amazon Clinic into the One Medical brand

Amazon is folding its Amazon Clinic telehealth service into its primary care business One Medical, the company announced on Thursday.  The company explained in today’s blog post that, to simplify…

Just in time for the debates, Meta fixes bug impacting users’ political content settings on Instagram and Threads

Meta has fixed the bug that caused people to believe the company had adjusted their selections in a political content settings tool without their consent. The issue had impacted users…

YouTube Premium upgrade adds smart downloads and picture-in-picture mode for Shorts

YouTube is adding several new features for Premium users, including smart downloads and support for picture-in-picture mode for Shorts, as well as a wider rollout of its “Jump Ahead” feature…

TechCrunch Disrupt joins forces with Google Cloud for Startup Battlefield 200

TechCrunch is joining forces with Google Cloud as its lead partner for Startup Battlefield 200. This event will highlight and support the most promising startups from around the globe at…

Character.AI now allows users to talk with AI avatars over calls

a16z-backed Character.AI said today that it is now allowing users to talk to AI characters over calls. The feature currently supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese…

TikTok to challenge Amazon Prime Day with its own sales event in July

TikTok is gearing up to challenge Amazon’s Prime Day event in July. The social network announced on Thursday that TikTok Shop is holding a “Deals For You Days” sales event…

Reliance Jio kicks off Indian telecom price hike

Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecoms operator, has initiated what analysts expect to be an industrywide increase in tariffs in the world’s second largest wireless market, raising some of its plans…

SoftBank forms AI healthcare JV in Japan with Tempus

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son announced on Thursday that the Japanese tech giant has set up a joint venture in the country with Chicago-based health tech company Tempus. Together, the…

As Spain gets its latest VC fund, Southern Europe appears to be on a roll

While startup valuations have plummeted since the bull run of 2021-2022, a factor that’s hit the European startup ecosystem particularly hard, there’s one region of Europe where the correction has…

Illumex is using GenAI to ease pain of getting good data into LLMs

By now we know how crucial it is to have quality data for use by large language models (LLMs), but getting data ready for the models has been an early…

Directo turns a TikTok travel hack into a deal-finding Chrome extension

A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo,…

Axelera lands new funds as the AI chip market heats up

Axelera designs AI-running chips and systems for applications like security, retail, automotive and robotics.

ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code…

Orby is building AI agents for the enterprise

Orby AI, is building a generative AI platform that attempts to automate a range of different business workflows, including workflows that involve data entry, documents processing and forms validation.

PortSwigger, the company behind the Burp Suite of security testing tools, swallows $112M

Sometimes the most successful startup ideas come from people building tools to solve their own needs. Such was the case with Dafydd Stuttard, a security expert who goes by Daf. …

Amazon hit with fresh class action-style suit in UK — $3.4B in competition damages sought for 200,000+ sellers

Amazon is facing another competition lawsuit in the U.K. The latest claim, which was filed Thursday, is seeking more than £2.7 billion in damages — or around $3.4 billion at…

Odaseva raises $54M to secure Salesforce users

Securing cloud services remains a challenge for enterprises. That’s why several companies have been working on security solutions that specifically address that need. In the latest example of that, Odaseva…

Austin-based Ironspring Ventures raised $100M to invest in the industrial revolution

When Ironspring Ventures launched in 2020 to back startups in industrial sectors like construction and manufacturing, it was one of very few early-stage venture firms paying attention to those capital-intensive…

To understand Lane Kiffin's rise at Mississippi, you have to follow along with Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s music wields the power to lay bare a listener’s soul. To true Swifties , Taylor isn’t just singing. Her lyrics resonate.

Even Ole Miss’ 49-year-old football coach sees a bit of himself in those lyrics.

Consider Lane Kiffin a Swiftie . He appreciates her music, and although he didn’t embrace Swift’s latest album, “ The Tortured Poets Department ,” with as much vigor as her past work, one song hit home.

“My favorite song would be, ‘ My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys ,’” Kiffin told me recently. He said he sees parallels between his life and the “boy” in Swift’s song.

In “My Boy,” Swift sings: “My boy only breaks his favorite toys. I'm queen of sandcastles he destroys.”

As Swift’s song continues, the music icon hits these punchy notes: “There was danger in the heat of my touch. He saw forever so he smashed it up.”

Snicker, if you like, while you consider Kiffin hearing himself within these lyrics. He’ll permit you that laugh, but he won’t deny reality.

“It might be similar to my life’s path,” Kiffin said during our wide-ranging interview.

Kiffin once was the boy wonder, the mercurial coach of the Oakland Raiders and later at the University of Tennessee , with the beautiful wife and a young family. The seams of that life came apart. He sped out of Knoxville while it flamed in his rear-view mirror. Southern California fired him from his dream job – on a tarmac, no less – in a professional lowlight. His marriage ended in divorce.

While Swift’s song lasts just more than three minutes, Kiffin’s tale didn’t end smashed in L.A. He rebuilt. He’s winning like never before.

Q&A What Lane Kiffin thinks of Taylor Swift, Nick Saban retirement, Ole Miss hopes

Kiffin, entering Year 5 at Ole Miss, armed himself with what he considers the best roster he’s ever had. The Rebels dine on success like it hasn’t tasted since the early 1960s.

These are new waters for Kiffin. He's never stayed at a head coaching job for this long.

Kiffin says he adopted a mentality of “radical acceptance” and an evolved perspective built on the idea that you never can truly know yourself until you’ve been torn apart and forced to put yourself back together.

“Most of my rock bottoms were my own fault, my own self-destruction,” Kiffin says, “but I now see that having to rebuild that in my personal life and in my career … in that process, I really got to actually figure myself out and learn myself, because I had to build it.”

Enough broken toys. Check out this puzzle Kiffin assembled at Ole Miss.

LOOKING AHEAD: Our too-early college football Top 25 after spring practice

RE-RANK: After spring practice, every college football teams ranked from 1-134

How Lane Kiffin used ‘free agency’ to upgrade Ole Miss

Kiffin discusses roster assembly almost as if he’s an NFL general manager. That reflects the truth of college football in 2024. Call it what it is: Teams use NIL deals, peddled via collectives, to attract and retain players. All that’s missing are the NFL’s employment contracts and salary caps.

Kiffin and Ole Miss are quite good at attracting talented transfers, and he infrequently loses his top players to the portal. Star running back Quinshon Judkins became a rare exception when he transferred to Ohio State after last season. Losing Judkins stings. But, his exit off the NIL bankroll freed cap space – to use an NFL term – to fortify other areas.

See how that NFL GM mindset applies?

Kiffin became an early adopter of using analytics to guide in-game strategy. He applies similar logic to roster building.

Would he rather have Player A for X number of dollars, or would Ole Miss be better served using $X to amass several good players who address needs?

“In the NFL, you’ve got to make decisions about how much to pay a player versus the other amount of players that you can get for that same price at other positions,” Kiffin explained. “I’m making that as a general statement about what they do in the NFL and would just say that in college football, you have to make those type of decisions now.”

In the four seasons since Ole Miss hired Kiffin, Alabama and Georgia are the only SEC teams to have compiled a better winning percentage than Kiffin’s Rebels.

Still, Kiffin knew his program required adjustment after last season’s 52-17 loss at Georgia . The Bulldogs manhandled Ole Miss. The Rebels needed to upgrade their offensive and defensive lines.

Hello, transfer portal.

Kiffin assembled the nation’s No. 1-ranked transfer class. Four offensive linemen and three defensive linemen are among that haul. If the Rebels become contenders for the SEC crown, it’ll be because of upgrades on the lines of scrimmage.

“The hope was, especially after the Georgia game, we need to build our offensive line better – (get) longer,” Kiffin said. “And we need to get bigger in the front seven. So, we went out aggressively in free agency, if I can just say what it is. We went out in free agency to attack that.”

Six transfers came from SEC schools. That includes four defensive additions, highlighted by defensive linemen Walter Nolen (Texas A&M) and Princely Umanmielen (Florida). The talent influx gives the Rebels an opportunity for its best defense in Kiffin’s tenure.

Plus, several Mississippi players who could’ve opted for the NFL draft returned for another season.

“They wanted to do something special,” Kiffin says of the veterans’ return.

What does “something special” look like?

Playoff qualification? A trip to Atlanta? National championship contention?

Kiffin won’t define concrete goals. He’s one of those “process” guys.

But, even Kiffin admits: “There’s a ton of experience.”

With experience and talent come lofty expectations – and the threat of a “rat poison” overdose.

Why Nick Saban told Lane Kiffin to give Ole Miss a warning

Nick Saban called Kiffin last week. Saban will be an ESPN analyst on “College GameDay,” and he rang Kiffin to polish his Ole Miss knowledge. Consider it preseason homework for the GOAT’s new gig.

“He’s attacking his new job,” Kiffin said.

While Kiffin had Saban’s ear, he asked his former boss for advice on how to deal with the unprecedented expectations his team faces.

Keep fresh in players’ minds the idea of “rat poison,” Saban advised. That’s the phrase Saban coined for when media heap praise upon a team.

“He said, ‘Remind those players about rat poison,’” Kiffin said, as he recalled Saban’s advice. “‘Remind them that those people that are writing that stuff on the internet about how great they are, ... it's probably some big fat guy in his underwear who doesn't know (crap) about football.’”

Kiffin holds Saban in the highest esteem. He feels gratitude that Saban hired him to be Alabama’s offensive coordinator after USC had sacked him in 2013. The benefits were mutual. Kiffin galvanized Alabama’s offense, and his three-year stint with Saban reignited his career.

Immediately after Saban retired in January, some Alabama fans positioned Kiffin atop their wish list as the ideal successor. Alabama focused its search elsewhere. It hired Kalen DeBoer , who had just taken Washington to the national championship game.

Did Kiffin want to replace Saban? He didn’t directly answer that question. Instead, Kiffin referenced advice his dad, former coach Monte Kiffin, offered him years ago.

Kiffin’s told me this story before. The elder Kiffin’s advice to his son went like this: “Always look at who you follow as a head coach. It’s a major, major part to your success, because you’ll always be compared to the coach before.”

Kiffin admits he “certainly didn’t listen” to Monte’s advice in his younger days, when he succeeded Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee and Pete Carroll at USC. Both were legends.

In Kiffin’s eyes, Saban will be the toughest act to follow, “because you’re always going to be compared” to the incomparable.

Following Bryan Harsin would’ve been a different kettle of fish. Kiffin emerged as a candidate for Auburn during its coaching search after the 2022 season. Kiffin flirted with Auburn but stayed put. Ole Miss awarded him a richer deal. Auburn hired Hugh Freeze.

Where might Auburn be, entering Year 2 of a Kiffin regime? Kiffin won’t let his mind go there. Instead, he answers that question like this:

“I wouldn’t see my daughter every day, which I do now,” Kiffin said of Landry, his oldest daughter, an Ole Miss sophomore.  “… So, that would answer that question. What’s going to matter later on in life? Which one are you going to value more?”

As Kiffin embraces “radical acceptance,” I’ll add this radical thought: Kiffin didn’t need Auburn, not when he’s built Ole Miss into a playoff contender.

Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss football have alchemy

Kiffin surprised even himself by staying at Ole Miss this long. Analytics would say a chic coach like Kiffin, with his 34-15 record with the Rebels, would’ve parlayed his success into a different job by now.

Kiffin’s success occurred, in part, because he stayed. He put down roots in Oxford long enough to build something. His 11 victories last season marked a career best.

“It’s really been amazing,” Kiffin said. “If we would’ve had this conversation 4½ years ago, I think most people wouldn’t have bet on” him still being at Ole Miss.

To some detractors, Kiffin always will be the coach who flopped with the Raiders, spurned Tennessee and got fired from his dream job. That narrative discounts that, for some people, past decisions help them wise up.

“I now believe that until you have really had your life, whether it’s personal life or job, whether you’ve had one or both of those torn apart, to where you have to go rebuild it, until you do that, you really don’t know yourself,” Kiffin said.

Even an evolved Lane remains Lane. He needles adversaries. (Be on guard, Eliah Drinkwitz and Brian Kelly.) He’s still susceptible to impulses. Heck, he’s probably crafting his next pithy tweet as I type this. He’s enraptured by his own cleverness.

But he also professes to possess more self-awareness than he once did.

The Kiffin of his 30s shot in like a comet and flamed out as quickly as he arrived. The Kiffin of his 40s reassembled his life and career.

Kiffin will turn 50 next spring. What’s in store for his next decade?

“I don’t break as many favorite toys – just kidding,” Kiffin said. “Just kidding.”

Or, he’s not kidding. He didn't break or forsake Ole Miss. He nurtured it.

For much of Swift’s latest album, she sings of love’s fickleness and failed relationships with toy breakers, but she pivots in “ The Alchemy ,” a love song with a more hopeful message.

Ole Miss hired Kiffin in a moment of need. Kiffin says he needed Ole Miss more. A brilliant match, they are. Who is he to fight the alchemy?  

Blake Toppmeyer  is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at  [email protected]  and follow him on Twitter  @btoppmeyer .