Features: Yahoo! Messenger 9.0

Check out the chart below to see what features are available for this version. Compare features in all versions.

Communication

Instant Messaging: Send text messages in real-time to your friends on Yahoo! Messenger.

Chat Rooms: Join a chat room to meet new friends while you discuss your favorite topics.

Photo Sharing: Share photos from your desktop or Flickr, then discuss them over IM while you and a friend view them together.

PC-to-PC Calls: Make a voice call to another Yahoo! Messenger user for free (microphone and speakers/headset required).

Phone Out (PC-to-Phone Calls): Call friends on their regular or mobile phones from Messenger for as low as 1¢ a minute (Phone Out account required).

Phone In (Get a Phone Number for Messenger): Get a new phone number that allows you to receive calls in Yahoo! Messenger (Phone In account required).

SMS (Text Messaging): Send text messages from Messenger to your friends mobile phones for free.

Webcam: Plug in your webcam to share live video with your friends on Yahoo! Messenger.

IM Conferencing: Instant message with many friends at once in a conference room (includes voice capabilities, where available).

IM with Friends on Other Networks: IM with friends who use Windows Live™ Messenger, Reuters Messaging, and Lotus Sametime — right from Yahoo! Messenger.

File Transfer: Send files instantly to a friend while you IM (2 GB limit).
Productivity

IM Forwarding to Mobile: When you sign out of Messenger, have new IMs sent to your phone as text messages.

Contact Search Bar: Quickly find a contact to IM, call, SMS or more.

Yahoo! Search: Start a web search right from your Yahoo! Messenger window.

Yahoo! Address Book: View and edit your Yahoo! Address Book information for your contacts right from Messenger.

Stealth/Privacy Settings: Make yourself appear online to some friends, and offline to others.

Call Forwarding: Have incoming calls to Messenger forwarded to another phone number, even if you're signed out (Phone Out account required).

Yahoo! Mail alerts: Get notified when new a new Yahoo! Mail message arrives.

Voicemail: When friends call you on Yahoo! Messenger, they can leave you a voicemail if you're unavailable.

Message Archiving: Maintain a private archive of your IM conversations.

Buzz Alert: Get your friend's attention with a click of the Buzz button.

Yahoo! Updates: Get real-time updates in Yahoo! Messenger about what your friends are posting online, reviewing and generally buzzing about
Fun & Personalization

Plug-ins: Add content, services and games to Messenger that you can enjoy on your own, or with friends while you IM.

Audibles: Send an animated, talking character to a friend to liven up your IM conversation.

Emoticons: Express your feelings with these animated, smiling faces.

Avatars: Represent yourself with a stylized, graphic image where you can choose the hair, clothing and more.

Display Images: Display an image to represent yourself to your friends.

Skins: Choose a different skin to give your IM world a new look.

IMVironments: Liven things up with interactive, themed backgrounds in the IM window.

Yahoo! Games: Play a game of pool, backgammon, checkers and more with a friend while you IM.

Custom Status Messages: Tell your friends what you're doing, seeing or feeling by customizing your online status message.

Custom Ringtones: Assign ringtones to different callers, or upload your own audio files to use.

Customizable Fonts & Colors: IM with a font, color and style that suits your personality.

Sound Effects & Soundtrack (During Voice Calls): Throw a sound effect in while you're on a call or upload a music file to play as a soundtrack in the background.