Official reason
Spark AR shutting down; some effects remaining via other tools.
Meta · VR / AR
Spark AR
RIP
2017–2025 · 8 years in market
The effects platform for Instagram and Facebook filters. Sunset as Meta re-concentrated on glasses and Horizon.
Launched
Jan 1, 2017
Discontinued
Jan 14, 2025
Cause of death
Strategic refocus
What actually happened
A creator economy Meta no longer wanted to subsidize relative to hardware bets.
Lesson
Filter platforms are only as durable as the feed they decorate. Strategy shifts orphan ecosystems.
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