iGoogle
Your personalized homepage. Google took it personally.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Retired over "the erosion of the need for the site." Google's words.
iGoogle launched in May 2005 and let you cover Google's blank homepage with gadgets. By April 2008 it accounted for 20% of all visits to Google's homepage. That October, Google forced a redesign on everyone with no way to opt out, and users passed around a secret code to add to the address to get the old layout back. On July 3, 2012 Google announced the end, blaming "the unforeseen evolution of web and mobile apps and the erosion of the need for the site." It was retired on November 1, 2013. In 2022 Google tested customizable widgets on its homepage. People compared it to iGoogle. As of late 2024 it had not launched.