Lasso isnt the only Facebook-owned service thats due to shut down on July 10th. The other day, TechCrunch reported that Facebook is likewise shutting down Hobbi, a speculative Pinterest-like app developed to assist individuals document personal tasks. Hobbi was the work of Facebooks New Product Experimentation team, and only introduced back in February of this year.
Facebook is shutting down Lasso, the greatly TikTok-inspired video app it released back in 2018. CNNs Kerry Flynn found the alerts being sent out to users, telling them that the app will not be usable after July 10th, and advising them to download any videos they want to keep.
Lasso was only ever readily available in select markets worldwide. TechCrunch reports that in addition to being offered in the US, the app was also available in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Uruguay since February.
Ex-TechCrunch editor Josh Constine notes that Facebook appears to be shutting down Lasso as its focus shifts to Instagrams Reels feature. Reels is a video editing tool that lets users tape-record and edit TikTok-style videos which they can then publish to their Instagram Stories, send through DM, or post to a brand-new area of the Explore tab called Top Reels. The function launched in Brazil in 2015 and broadened to France and Germany recently, according to TechCrunch.
