Facebook announced it is discontinuing three of its mobile apps because you did not care enough to use them apparently…
Facebook is cleaning up and non-core apps are the first to go. In a blog announcement, Facebook explained that some of the apps in its ecosystem did not carry enough value to users. What that means in Facebook terms is that not enough people were using them to even justify a monetization channel…
First on the list is Hello, which Facebook launched in 2015. This Android-only app was only available in Brazil, the US and Nigeria. It allowed users to combine their Facebook information with their phone’s contact information. Due to the recent privacy/transparency issues the company has faced, this one is not really a surprise to be honest (pun intended… wait for it…)
Net up is tbh (to be honest), an anonymous social media app for teens which Facebook acquired only a year ago. The app was only available in the US and allowed teens to share opinions on things and on each other anonymously. Again, I’m not sure this one will be missed either.
Third and final apps to be discontinued is Moves. This probably will be the one that will disappoint the most people. Moves was one of the most popular fitness tracking app that would automatically understand your activity and record it accordingly. The app was first launched in 2013 and Facebook acquired it back in 2014. Users loves its simple design and ease of use as well as its accuracy. Moves even won the coveted “Editors Choice'” ranking from Apple. But it seems that was not enough and the app will be discontinued.
Announcing the shuttering of the apps, Facebook said:
“We regularly review our apps to assess which ones people value most. Sometimes this means closing an app and its accompanying APIs. We know some people are still using these apps and will be disappointed–and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support. But we need to prioritize our work so we don’t spread ourselves too thin. And it’s only by trial and error that we’ll create great social experiences for people.”
Facebook has faced much criticism lately for its handling of personal data. This leads me to think that these three apps may have had issues with the latter and Facebook may have chosen to pull the plug before one of them caused the next privacy scandal.
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