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Twitter Announces the Closure of Video Sharing App 'Vine'

The popular service, characterized by its brief, looping videos, launched in 2013.

Published Oct. 27, 2016

On 27 October 2016, video-sharing app Vine abruptly announced that its service was slated for closure:

Since 2013, millions of people have turned to Vine to laugh at loops and see creativity unfold. Today, we are sharing the news that in the coming months we’ll be discontinuing the mobile app.

Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today. We value you, your Vines, and are going to do this the right way. You’ll be able to access and download your Vines. We’ll be keeping the website online because we think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made. You will be notified before we make any changes to the app or website.

The article provided no details, nor did it show a timeline for Vine's discontinuation.  The announcement appeared just after Twitter announced plans to cut nine percent of its workforce (about 350 people) and discontinue some of its services:

The restructuring, which focuses primarily on reorganizing the company’s sales, partnerships, and marketing efforts, is intended to create greater focus and efficiency to enable Twitter’s goal of driving toward GAAP profitability in 2017.

“Our strategy is directly driving growth in audience and engagement, with an acceleration in year over-year growth for daily active usage, Tweet impressions, and time spent for the second consecutive quarter,” said Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO.

“We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as we continue to improve the core service. We have a clear plan, and we’re making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth. The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending positive, and we remain confident in Twitter’s future.”

Twitter acquired Vine in 2013, just before the video sharing service's official launch.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.

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