Twitter to shut down livestreaming app Periscope

Twitter said Tuesday it will be shutting down its live streaming service Periscope as a separate app next year. 

The Periscope app will be removed from app stores by March 2021 and no users will be able to create a new account in the app starting with the next app update, the company said in a blog post. 

Twitter said the decision was made because the app has been in an unsustainable maintenance-mode state for a while, with declining usage and increasing support costs. 

“Leaving it in its current state isn’t doing right by the current and former Periscope community or by Twitter,” Periscope said in the announcement. “We still believe in the power of live video to solve impactful problems, which is why we’ve brought most of the core capabilities of Periscope into Twitter.”

Users will be able to download an archive of their Periscope broadcasts and date before the app is removed in March. 

Twitter purchased Periscope before the app launched in 2015. 

Despite Periscope’s shut down, Twitter is expanding in other areas of video content. 

The social media platform announced last week it acquired a startup app called Squad that allows users to connect virtually through video chats and screen sharing. Twitter said the acquisition was part of an investment in new conversational formats. 

Last month the platform rolled out its “Fleets” feature, which allows users to post tweets or videos that disappear after 24 hours following similar features platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram had previously launched.