US-based microblogging and social networking service Twitter is going to shut down its standalone live streaming application Periscope by next year.
Users will not be allowed to create new accounts and the Periscope app will be removed from smartphone app stores by March 2021. “Although it’s time to say goodbye, the legacy of Periscope will live on far beyond the boundaries of the app itself,” according to the statement from the company.
Twitter said, “The capabilities and ethos of the Periscope team and infrastructure already permeate Twitter, and we’re confident that live video still has the potential of seeing an even wider audience within the Twitter product.”
The Periscope was acquired by Twitter before its launch in 2015. The users can stream quickly through the Periscope with embedded broadcasts that can be played on tweets and viewers can comment or send “heart” emojis between streams in the app. It also helped to strengthen the newly implemented Twitter Live feature. Fewer people used the Periscope than its biggest competitors, Facebook Live, Twitch, and YouTube Live Streaming.
The developers struggle to continue managing the Periscope leads to the company’s decision to cease the operations of the application. “The truth is that the Periscope app is in an unsustainable maintenance-mode state, and has been for a while. Leaving it in its current state isn’t doing right by the current and former Periscope community or by Twitter,” said in the statement.
The social networking company said that live streaming capabilities would continue to be a priority with Twitter Live on its mobile app. The Periscope team said that the website will remain so that current users can access past broadcasts and view them.
“We still believe in the power of live video to solve impactful problems, which is why we’ve brought most of the core capabilities of Periscope into Twitter,” the company added.
Periscope
Periscope is an American live video streaming app for Android and iOS developed by Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein and acquired by Twitter before launch in 2015. It allows the user to share and experience live video streams direct from your smartphone or tablet.
