Official reason
App discontinued; effects live in Messenger and Instagram.
Meta · VR / AR
MSQRD
RIP
2015–2020 · 5 years in market
Face-filter app Facebook bought in 2016, used for camera effects, then retired as a brand.
Launched
Jan 1, 2015
Discontinued
Jan 1, 2020
Cause of death
Acquired, then shut down
What actually happened
Acqui-hire for masks. The consumer app was surplus.
Lesson
Buy the tech, keep the talent, do not pretend the downloadable will last.
Related autopsies
Meta
RIP
Instant Articles
2015–2023 · 8 yrs
A fast, Facebook-hosted article format. Publishers joined, then fled over reach and monetization.
Media & Publishing/Strategic refocus+36
Meta
RIP
Poke
2012–2014 · 2 yrs
Facebook’s first Snapchat clone. Ephemeral photos, forgotten in months.
Messaging/Lost to a competitor+35
Meta
RIP
Facebook M
2015–2018 · 3 yrs
A concierge inside Messenger staffed by humans plus AI. Unit economics of a hotel butler.
AI Assistants/Cost / unit economics+35
Meta
RIP
Rooms
2014–2015 · 1 yr
Anonymous topic rooms, no real names. A brief rebellion against Facebook’s identity doctrine.
Social/Low usage+33