Facebook surprises the tech industry with its plans to shut down several apps, one of which is just barely a few months in its catalog.
3 Heads Roll
An announcement on the company's official newsroom indicates that a total of three platforms will end its services soon. It looks like "low usage" is to blame for the decision to discontinue Moves, Hello, and tbh. According to sources, the tbh, which Facebook bought last year in October, appears to be the biggest letdown among the three.
The social network firm reassures the public that everything has nothing do with privacy concerns. Industry experts note that the declining number of users is a valid reason for a business to consider the closure of certain products.
Moreover, it does not make sense to provide support for these apps that will eventually cease to be significant in the near future. This goes to show that there is always a risk that what may be popular at the moment may no longer be the same in the future unless it offers something exceptional.
A Clean Slate
Reports confirmed that Facebook will delete all of the relevant data for the three apps within 90 days. However, there is a likelihood that the services will end sooner than the scheduled time frame. The company is well aware that its actions will not sit well with existing users, but business apparently comes first.
The oldest of the bunch is Moves, a fitness app that was acquired in 2014. It will be the first to get axed on July 31. Hello was launched in 2015 and was targeted for markets in the United States, Nigeria, and Brazil. It functioned as a caller ID tool that combines contact information from the mobile phone and the social app.
Lastly, tbh is a platform with social media applications intended for younger audiences in order to promote positivity. Other than Hello, the remaining two do not have an exact end date yet.
Speculation Surrounding Its Actions
Given Facebook's ongoing privacy fiasco, rumors swirl that the social network company is in big trouble. On the other hand, some suspect that the changes made by the General Data Protection Regulation, which was enforced a couple of months ago in Europe, might be a contributing factor.
Other than the planned shutdown of the three apps, the company abandoned its solar-powered internet drone project last month as well. Insiders quickly clarified that its efforts are ongoing, but the task of building the aircraft will be delegated to its partners.
