Official line
Spark AR shutting down; some effects remaining via other tools.
Meta · VR / AR · Product
2017–2025 · 8 years in market
Launched
Jan 1, 2017
Discontinued
Jan 14, 2025
Cause of death
Strategic refocus
Evidence
Unsourced
The effects platform for Instagram and Facebook filters. Sunset as Meta re-concentrated on glasses and Horizon.
Spark AR shutting down; some effects remaining via other tools.
Editorial reading
A creator economy Meta no longer wanted to subsidize relative to hardware bets.
Filter platforms are only as durable as the feed they decorate. Strategy shifts orphan ecosystems.
Unsourced — editorial reading
No primary source is attached yet. Treat the interpretation as editorial, not a citation.
Same company, category, or cause of death.
Meta
2015–2023 · 8 yrs
A fast, Facebook-hosted article format. Publishers joined, then fled over reach and monetization.
Meta
2013–2015 · 2 yrs
An Android launcher that replaced your home screen with Facebook. Carriers and users said no.
Meta
2011–2024 · 13 yrs
The transparency tool researchers and journalists used to watch Facebook. Shut in a political storm.
Meta
2018–2023 · 5 yrs
Synchronized video viewing in Facebook Groups. A co-watching feature that never became a habit outside a few communities.