Snap-owned GIF-hosting platform, Gfycat, based in 2013 and bought by Snap in 2020, was as soon as a preferred website with integrations throughout varied platforms, has introduced its impending shutdown on September 1, resulting in the removing of its complete archive of GIFs from the platform. Customers have been given a two-month window to avoid wasting their content material earlier than it’s completely eliminated. The way forward for Gfycat’s content material stays unsure, as it’s unclear whether or not Snap plans to combine it into Snapchat or delete it altogether.
A message on the Gfycat web site states, “The Gfycat service is being discontinued. Please save or delete your Gfycat content material by logging in to your account at https://www.gfycat.com. All Gfycat data and information can be faraway from gfycat.com after September 1, 2023.”
Uncertainty surrounding content material integration
The destiny of the Gfycat content material stays unsure, as it’s unclear whether or not Snap plans to combine it into Snapchat or completely erase years of GIFs. Nonetheless, a spokesperson from Snapchat talked about to TechCrunch that customers can nonetheless seek for and use GIFs of their conversations with associates on the platform.
This shutdown signifies that Gfycat has struggled to compete in opposition to rivals corresponding to Tenor and Giphy. In Might, When Gfycat’s momentary TLS safety certificates expired in Might and the positioning was inaccessible to the vast majority of customers for 5 days, Gfycat got here beneath fireplace. Moreover, Reddit reviews recommend that some Gfycat customers have been experiencing difficulties importing GIFs for months, with the help group remaining unresponsive.
Disappointment amongst customers
The service’s disappearance will disappoint many customers, as Gfycat supported high-definition quick clips and animations. Based in 2013 by Richard Rabbat, Dan McEleney, and Jeff Harris, the user-generated content material platform secured a $10 million seed spherical in 2016 and was as soon as among the many hottest websites within the U.S. It had integrations with main messaging platforms and companies, together with Reddit, Skype, Microsoft Outlook, and WordPress. Gfycat was additionally among the many first net companies to allow video encoding of GIFs. Snap acquired the platform in 2020.
This information follows Meta’s latest sale of Giphy to Shutterstock for $53 million, three years after Meta bought the GIF search engine for $400 million. In October 2022, the UK’s antitrust authority ordered Meta to divest Giphy, as it might “considerably scale back competitors in two markets,” in line with Stuart McIntosh, chair of the impartial inquiry group, as acknowledged in a press launch.
