Twitter to shut down Periscope app

The video live-streaming app Periscope will shut down next year following a number of issues plaguing the app. The announcement was made in a Medium blog post this week.

The standalone app, launched in 2015, was acquired by Twitter that same year to address the surging rise of its competitor, Meerkat.

It became popular for bringing livestream experiences to users around the world.

Some personal news: the Periscope app will be going away next year. We’re here to say goodbye. 👋

We appreciate all the support, learnings, and broadcasts from our vibrant creator community. More on our difficult decision to discontinue the app: https://t.co/jZWjDlsRHk (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Kfgvocq31O

— Periscope (@PeriscopeCo) December 15, 2020

According to an open letter on 15 December, the standalone app has been in decline over the last few years.

It cited a number of issues that became problematic for the team.

“The truth is that the Periscope app is in an unsustainable maintenance-mode state, and has been for a while,” the post said.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen declining usage and know that the cost to support the app will only continue to go up over time.”

So, what’s next for Periscope and Twitter?

Periscope revealed that it had incorporated some of its features into Twitter prior to the announcement.

The team said that they firmly believe live streaming can bring the world closer and resolve global problems.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team had to reprioritise many of its projects.

It says that as a result, Twitter will be removing the standalone Periscope app from all app stores by March 2021.

Additionally, it urged users not to create new in-app accounts with the next software update coming soon.

Furthermore, existing livestreams that were shared or uploaded to Twitter will remain on the platform as “replays”.

Users will also be able to download archived streams before the app discontinues next year.

Twitter has outlined how users will be able to create livestreams on the platform going forward.

To keep on going live, you can use Twitter Live and Media Studio. Learn more about switching over to Twitter and what to do with your Periscope account: https://t.co/3eVgHF5lX1 (2/2)

— Periscope (@PeriscopeCo) December 15, 2020

The Periscope team concluded by thanking its community for the continuous support over the years.

“We’ve learned so much, shared incredible experiences together, witnessed unforgettable moments in history and seen pockets of the world we could’ve only imagined when we first launched Periscope.”

Feature image: Twitter

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