BANGKOK – Yahoo has discontinued its search engine services in Thailand, effectively blocking users with Thai IP addresses from accessing the platform without technical workarounds. According to the Bangkok Post, attempts to visit Yahoo Search from Thailand now result in a redirect to sg.search.yahoo.com, which operates under Singaporean jurisdiction.

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The move reflects Yahoo’s ongoing consolidation and strategic pullback from markets where it holds minimal share. Google dominates Thailand’s search landscape, and Yahoo had long relied on Microsoft’s Bing to power its search results, reducing the operational incentive to maintain a localized presence.

Industry observers note that maintaining compliance with Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), fully enforced since June 2022, likely added to the cost and complexity of operations in a low-revenue market. Yahoo has been streamlining its services globally, focusing on core offerings such as email and finance while scaling back less essential functions.

Thai users now require a VPN to access Yahoo Search—a solution that carries its own privacy and security risks. Many are turning to alternatives such as Google, Bing, or privacy-focused search engines like DuckDuckGo.

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Yahoo has not issued an official statement regarding the shutdown, but the redirection appears deliberate, signaling an end to its search presence in Thailand.

-Thailand News (TN)