AFTER 25 years, Amazon is shutting down its Alexa web tracking system on May 1, 2022.
But don’t be fooled- This won’t affect the Alexa devices, though they bear the same name.
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Amazon had used the Alexa Internet to track the popularity of websites.
In an announcement post on Wednesday, December 8, the Alexa.com team stated: “Twenty-five years ago, we founded Alexa Internet. After two decades of helping you find, reach, and convert your digital audience, we’ve made the difficult decision to retire Alexa.com on May 1, 2022.
“Thank you for making us your go-to resource for content research, competitive analysis, keyword research, and so much more.
“We have been proud to serve you as customers.”
New subscriptions were also halted on December 8, though customers with existing subscriptions will be able to access services until May 1, 2022.
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No official reason for the shutdown was shared in the statement.
While the technology was developed in 1996, it wasn’t purchased by Amazon until 1999.
The Alexa Rank technology monitored how users interacted with the sites as they navigated around, using software installed on some web browsers.
The information then develops rankings of the most popular websites from around the world.
However, there have been questions about the technology’s reliability due to how the information was gathered and the small sampling of folks using the browser extension to track website information.
But sites like Wikipedia came to rely on these popularity rankings.
Alexa Rank was also helpful in tracking and sharing information about websites whose owners opted not to share rankings and popularity.
It wasn’t until 2014 that the Amazon Alexa voice assistant bearing the same name debuted.
Those with existing Alexa.com subscriptions will be able to export their information before deleting their accounts.
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