{"id":103869,"date":"2025-08-23T08:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/103869\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T08:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:55:10","slug":"which-of-these-websites-do-you-remember-the-early-internet-pages-gen-z-have-never-heard-of-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/103869\/","title":{"rendered":"Which of these websites do YOU remember? The early internet pages Gen Z have NEVER heard of, revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it’s TikTok<\/a> or Google<\/a>, many of us use apps and websites every day without thinking twice about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But rewind just 30 years, and the internet looked very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TikToker @wilfredwebster has asked people in London<\/a> about the early interent sites young people have never heard of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the video, respondents suggest a range of once\u2013popular sites like Limewire, Bebo, Habbo Hotel, MSN, and Ask Jeeves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, ask suspected, Gen Z are absolutely clueless when asked what these were.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘A toy? Or a cartoon character?’ one youngster replied when quizzed on what Bebo is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, do these early\u20132000s websites evoke memories from deep within you, or leave you scratching your head?<\/p>\n

Scroll down to find out!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LimeWire <\/p>\n

LimeWire was a popular music\u2013sharing service that allowed people to upload and download music without compensation to artists<\/p>\n

1. LimeWire<\/p>\n

LimeWire was a popular music\u2013sharing service that allowed people to upload and download music without compensation to artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The site was originally created by Mark Gorton in 2000, and drew in millions of users.<\/p>\n

With people able to upload and download their own music, LimeWire was also known for spreading viruses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, one investigation showed that of 123 randomly selected downloaded files, 37 contained malware \u2013 about 30 per cent!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The site soon drew the outrage of musicians and was eventually shut down in 2010.<\/p>\n

Taking to the comments on TikTok, several users have reminisced over the retro site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘All those viruses on LimeWire,’ one user commented, while another\u00a0added: ‘Got all my music from LimeWire.’<\/p>\n

\"MSN <\/p>\n

MSN Messenger was the go\u2013to instant messaging service of the early 2000s<\/p>\n

And one joked: ‘God only knows how infected my computer was from the Limewire downloads.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0MSN Messenger<\/p>\n

MSN Messenger was the go\u2013to instant messaging service of the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Developed by Microsoft, the platform\u00a0allowed users to connect and chat with each other through text, audio, and video.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike most instant messaging services used today, MSN Messenger had no public posting, filters, or monetisation tools \u2013 including ads, sponsored content, or pop\u2013ups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This simple interface proved hugely popular, with a whopping 330 million active monthly users in 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as rival platforms like WhatsApp and iMessage became more mainstream, MSN Messenger began to die\u2013off, and was eventually discontinued in 2014.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘MSN was such a big part of our lives,’ one user reminisced on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Habbo <\/p>\n

Habbo Hotel was a popular online social networking and virtual world platform, launched in 2000 by the Finnish company Sulake<\/p>\n

‘The days of MSN and Bebo are probably some of the highlights of my childhood,’\u00a0another added.<\/p>\n

‘It was the beginning of still being able to keep in contact with my friends without seeing them and for my socially anxious a** that was amazing.’<\/p>\n

3. Habbo Hotel<\/p>\n

Habbo Hotel was a popular online social networking and virtual world platform, launched in 2000 by the Finnish company Sulake.<\/p>\n

It was designed as a pixel\u2013art style ‘hotel’ where players \u2013 called Habbos \u2013 could create customizable avatars, decorate virtual hotel rooms, and interact with others in real time.<\/p>\n

While it reached peak popularity in the early\u20132000s, Habbo Hotel actually still exists today \u2013 with many nostalgic players continuing to log on.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I loved Habbo Hotel!!!!’ one user delighted on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another added: ‘The lady that said Habbo Hotel just unlocked core memories that I completely forgot about!’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bebo <\/p>\n

Bebo was founded in 2005, and was known for its questionnaires and its infamous ‘Top 16 friends’ feature<\/p>\n

What was Bebo? <\/p>\n

Bebo was founded in 2005, and was known for its questionnaires and its infamous ‘Top 16 friends’ feature.<\/p>\n

Alongside MySpace, Bebo was one of the contenders to Facebook in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

And at its peak it had about 40 million users.<\/p>\n

It was sold to AOL for $850 million in 2008, and was soon eclipsed by Facebook as well as other social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, before being shut down in 2013.<\/p>\n

<!- – ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/us\/sciencetech\/none\/article\/other\/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – -><\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Bebo<\/p>\n

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok may be the most popular social media apps these days, but back in the early 2000s, Bebo was the go-to site for keen millennials.<\/p>\n

Bebo was founded in 2005, and was known for its questionnaires and its infamous ‘Top 16 friends’ feature.<\/p>\n

Alongside MySpace, Bebo was one of the contenders to Facebook in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

And at its peak it had about 40 million users.<\/p>\n

It was sold to AOL for $850 million in 2008, and was soon eclipsed by Facebook as well as other social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, before being shut down in 2013.<\/p>\n

‘Bebo was miles better than Facebook, you could customise your page and everything!’ one user commented on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Everyone went over to the boring dull Facebook and Bebo died sad times!!’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In April 1997, web users traveled to a page where they could search in plain English. The site was accommodated by a butler named Jeeves, who originated from P. G. Wodehouse’s famous novels<\/p>\n

Another added: ‘Wish I could see all my old Bebo pictures.’\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ask Jeeves<\/p>\n

In April 1997, web users travelled to a page where they could search in plain English.<\/p>\n

The site was accommodated by a butler named Jeeves, who originated from P. G. Wodehouse’s famous novels.<\/p>\n

After typing in a question, users would be presented with a result page from three major sources: human-powered editorial content, crawler-based results from Teoma (owned by Ask Jeeves) and paid listings powered by Google.<\/p>\n

If users did not get the answer they were looking for, a query would be sent to one of the site’s editors, who would search for them.<\/p>\n

Ask Jeeves was rebranded to Ask.com in 2006 and attempted to overtake Yahoo Answers as a Q&A site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four years later, it was completely abandoned due to Google taking over the search engine industry.<\/p>\n

\"MySpace <\/p>\n

MySpace was a social media platform launched in 2003 that let users design profiles, communicate with friends, share photos and diaries and post music to their page<\/p>\n

‘Was Ask Jeeves not the OG AI?!’ one user questioned on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another added: ‘Ask Jeeves was our ChatGPT.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

MySpace<\/p>\n

MySpace was a social media platform\u00a0launched in 2003 that let users design profiles, communicate with friends, share photos and diaries and post music to their page.<\/p>\n

Users not only invited friends to their profile but were allowed to show the internet who their ‘top eight’ were.<\/p>\n

People spent countless hours redesigning their profiles, savagely ranking friends and choosing tunes to fit their moods.<\/p>\n

Founder Tom Anderson sold Myspace to News Corp in 2005 for $580 million.<\/p>\n

Six years later, the website sold again for a hugely depreciated $35 million, prompting Rupert Murdoch to refer to the initial purchase as ‘A huge mistake.’<\/p>\n

BEST WHATSAPP ALTERNATIVES<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’re considering deleting WhatsApp, you’ll be happy to hear that there are several alternative apps to choose from:<\/p>\n

1. Telegram<\/p>\n

With more than 400 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular WhatsApp alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it looks very similar to WhatsApp, what sets it apart is the fact that it gives the\u00a0option to set messages to self-destruct after a given period of time, leaving no trace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption.<\/p>\n

However, as a WhatsApp spokesperson pointed out, Telegram ‘does not offer end-to-end encryption by default so it\u2019s not necessarily more secure than WhatsApp’.<\/p>\n

2. Signal\u00a0<\/p>\n

Signal is one of the most secure messaging apps, thanks to the fact that it is open-source.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This means that the code for the app is publicly available to view, making it near-impossible for the app’s creators to sneak in any backdoors that could allow governments or hackers to spy on your messages.<\/p>\n

3. iMessage<\/p>\n

If you use an iPhone, you may consider simply switching to iMessage, Apple’s own messaging app.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The app has a number of impressive features included no character limits, the ability to send pictures and videos, and of course Apple’s animated emoji feature, Animoji.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, iMessage is only available for iPhone users, so you’ll struggle to interact with anyone using an Android.\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. Google Messages<\/p>\n

Google’s answer to iMessage is Google Messages, an Android-only messaging service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The app replaces your standard SMS app, and integrates with all of Google’s apps and services, making it easy to share images or use Google Assistant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Facebook Messenger<\/p>\n

If you were put off using WhatsApp due to its sharing of data with Facebook, Facebook Messenger may not be the best option for you.<\/p>\n

However, the app offers a number of helpful features, including games, secret conversations and video calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether it’s TikTok or Google, many of us use apps and websites every day without thinking twice about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[98,10414,168,174,2299,74,1153],"class_list":{"0":"post-103869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-facebook","10":"tag-google","11":"tag-internet","12":"tag-sciencetech","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-tiktok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}