Meta will shut down the augmented reality studio which third party creators used to utilise for making customer effects on Instagram and Facebook. The social media tech giant announced this on Tuesday as it wishes to prioritise spending on other areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). The feature known as Meta Spark will will shut on January 14 and the third party AR-effects that include computer generated filters, masks and 3D objects which were created on the studio will be removed.
Meta added that its first party AR effects will still be available on products including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Disappointment For Third Party Creators
Meta has made it quite evident that it is prioritising investments in AI products and metaverse. The company in its blog post said, “With the decision to shut down the Meta Spark platform, we’re also shifting resources to the next generation of experiences, across new form factors like glasses.”
As expected, following the announcement, third party creators expressed disappointment and then started finding alternatives on the Meta Spark community group on Facebook.
A user posted, “I wonder how many people will migrate to Snapchat Lens Studio or Unity now that Meta Spark is being sunset?”
The reason for this comment was that, Snap also offers a free AR creation platform that allows developers to build custom AR effects, which is known as Lens Studio.
In May, Meta said it would discontinue its work-focused Workplace app starting June 2026 for customers but it would continue to use it as the company’s internal messaging board.
The company also said on Tuesday that existing reels or stories that use third-party AR effects will remain available to users, but AR effects and files in Meta Spark studio and Meta Spark Hub will no longer be accessible.