Twitter pulls the plug on Periscope, website to live on as public broadcast archive

Twitter is shutting down its Periscope services. Periscope, the live streaming app for Android and iOS will be discontinued from March 2021. In a blog post, the company said that maintenance for the app is currently unsustainable and it has been this way for a while now. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen declining usage and know that the cost to support the app will only continue to go up over time,” Twitter’s blog post read. While the separate application is being shut, the company said that it will integrate live video streaming to its Twitter Live feature within the main Twitter app.

As Periscope will not completely shut down until March next year, the company is not taking any new users. The new update rolled out by the company will ensure that any new account signup is being blocked going forward. Meanwhile, existing Periscope users have the chance to download an archive of their data as well as Periscope videos in the next three months before the app is discontinued. Twitter added that Periscope’s website will remain active despite the app being shut and will act as a read-only archive of public broadcasts.

Furthermore, existing users can apply to become “Super Broadcasters” and cash out as the company is trying to relax the requirements. “We know that many of you were striving to be a part of our Super Broadcaster program. To help here, we are relaxing our requirements to apply to be a Super Broadcaster and cash out. Applications must be submitted no later than February 1, 2021 to allow for ample processing and payment time,” the company said.

Twitter acquired Periscope back in 2015, even before the service broke cover for the public. Live broadcasting was all the in-thing back then, and Periscope did show a lot of potential. Sadly, its popularity was not very long-lived and with Twitter itself offering “live” features down the line, it was only about time it pulled the plug on Periscope.