Twitter is shutting down the live-streaming app Periscope due to declining usage over the past couple of years and high supporting costs.
“… We have made the difficult decision to discontinue Periscope as a separate mobile app by March 2021,” Twitter wrote in its blog post.
“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. Leaving it in its current state isn’t doing right by the current and former Periscope community or by Twitter,” it added.
The firm still believes in the power of live video to solve impactful problems, which is why it has brought most of the core capabilities of Periscope into Twitter, it said.
“We probably would have made this decision sooner if it weren’t for all of the projects we reprioritized due to the events of 2020. We are sharing our decision with you now because we want to be transparent and honest about where we are at and what is next,” Twitter said.
The firm said it is planning to remove Periscope from the app stores by March 2021, but no one will be able to create a new account in-app starting with the next release.
Broadcasts that were shared to Twitter will live on as replays, and all broadcasters will be able to download an archive of their Periscope broadcasts and data before the app is removed in March 2021, it added.
Although it is time to say goodbye, the legacy of Periscope will live on far beyond the boundaries of the app itself, Twitter said.
The capabilities and ethos of the Periscope team and infrastructure already permeate Twitter, and it is confident that live video still has the potential of seeing an even wider audience within the Twitter product, it said.
