Facebook is shutting down ‘Moments’

Facebook Moments, the standalone mobile app designed to let users privately share photos and videos, is shutting down next month.

Facebook confirmed the app’s services will end February 25. Facebook decided to end support for the app, which hasn’t been updated in some time, because people weren’t using it.

“We’re ending support for the Moments app, which we originally launched as a place for people to save their photos. We know the photos people share are important to them so we will continue offering ways to save memories within the Facebook app,” Rushabh Doshi, director of product management said in a statement.

Moments users should see a message warning them of the imminent end of the app. Below the message is an option to export photos and videos. 

There are two export options for users, which people can access on the website version of the Moments app. One will create a private album on their Facebook account; the other option downloads everything to their device. People can export their photos and videos from the Moments website through May 2019, according to Facebook.

Users can start their export from any device. If the user creates private Facebook albums, they’ll see a link next to each moment below that’s ready to view as an album on Facebook.

For folks who opt to download the file, they’ll need to enter their Facebook password when prompted. The files will be shown along with the file size and users will be able to select the quality — high, medium or low — of the files. The Moments app will email a link and notify the user on Facebook when it’s ready to be downloaded.

Moments, which first launched in 2015, has seen some competition from other Facebook products recently, which might have led to its demise. For instance, Facebook built out its Stories feature, which includes a direct sharing option. That option, while designed for one-offs and not whole albums, did allow users to bypass the Moments app entirely in order to privately send photos with a select friend or friends.

Users also have the option to share any of their photos from the app as Albums on Facebook. If someone downloads the app to an Album, the privacy setting will default to “Only Me” but a user always has the option to share it with friends.

Facebook says it will continue to incorporate options for saving memories within the Facebook app, as well. For instance, as the Stories format grows in popularity, the company is working on more ways for people to save their photos and videos they shared through Stories. Some of these launched features include Save Photos, highlights and Stories Archive on Facebook.