Skip to main content

Twitter cuts the cord on Vine video platform, discontinues support of app

Vine, Twitter’s video platform that helped popularize the short-form video standard that continued with the likes of Instagram and Snapchat, is dead. While viewers will be able to continue watching already published content, Twitter is abandoning the app and discontinuing the entire platform.

Originally founded in mid-2012, Twitter acquired the young startup for a reported $30 million, even though it had not launched. This proved to be a smart move, as after its debut in October that same year, Vine blew up, eventually garnering around 200 million monthly viewers and users.

Recommended Videos

The short-form videos proved to be a perfect breeding ground for brief comedy sketches, pranks, and win/fails, leading to a few legitimate career prospects for some of its most creative and popular users. In recent months though, some content creators have moved on to other platforms for various reasons and it seems Twitter was not willing or able to turn the ship around.

“To all the creators out there — thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day. To the many team members over the years who made this what it was — thank you for your contributions. And of course, thank you to all of those who came to watch and laugh every day,” Twitter said in its announcement post.

This comes just a few hours after Twitter announced its quarterly financial report and things are not going well. With nine percent of its workforce set to be let go, perhaps there will be some crossover with Vine employees.

Moving forward, it is not clear what Twitter plans to do with existing content or offer content creators who will now be looking elsewhere for their recording platform. For now, all existing content will remain, including the Vine website, with Twitter promising to update everyone in the near future.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
Twitter CEO claims platform had best day last week
A stylized composite of the Twitter logo.

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino tweeted on Monday that despite the current fuss over Meta’s new and very similar Threads app, Twitter had its largest usage day last week.

Subtly including the name of Meta’s new app, which launched to great fanfare last Wednesday, Yaccarino did her best to sing Twitter’s praises, tweeting: “Don’t want to leave you hanging by a thread … but Twitter, you really outdid yourselves! Last week we had our largest usage day since February. There’s only ONE Twitter. You know it. I know it.”

Read more
Twitter goes after ‘copycat’ app Threads
A stylized composite of the Twitter logo.

With Meta’s new Threads app having picked up 30 million users on its first day, it’s little wonder Twitter is upset.

In fact, it’s so put out by Meta’s very similar app that it’s now threatening to sue the company, accusing it of violating Twitter’s intellectual property rights.

Read more
Twitter CEO Yaccarino breaks silence on platform’s reading caps
A lot of white Twitter logos against a blue background.

Twitter’s recently appointed CEO Linda Yaccarino has commented for the first time on the platform’s controversial decision to impose temporary reading limits on its users.

Tweeting on Tuesday, Yaccarino strongly backed the action, describing it as a "big move" and "meaningful."

Read more