Facebook Ends Lasso and Hobbi Apps Ahead of Instagram Reels Launch

Facebook is closing its TikTok competitor Lasso and Pinterest rival Hobbi as it prepares to introduce the Reels feature on Instagram. The shutdown marks the end of a two-year experiment in standalone app development.

06 Jul 2020 • 1 min read

Facebook is officially shutting down Lasso and Hobbi, two standalone apps that it launches in late 2018. Lasso functions as a short-video sharing platform for teenagers, allowing users to create 15-second clips with popular music overlays, while Hobbi operates as a Pinterest-style application. Both apps are scheduled to close on July 10, 2020.

The closure of these applications comes at a time when TikTok continues to surge in popularity among younger demographics, overtaking YouTube and Instagram in user engagement. Lasso, which is available exclusively in the United States and several Latin American countries, fails to capture significant market share from ByteDance's dominant video platform.

Instead of continuing with standalone applications, Facebook is consolidating its short-video strategy into Instagram. The company is preparing to launch Instagram Reels, a new feature that integrates TikTok-like video creation and viral discovery directly into the existing Instagram ecosystem. This strategic pivot essentially replaces the need for separate apps like Lasso.

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