Facebook pulls the plug on its TikTok rival Lasso

Users could create a video of up to 15 seconds over popular songs using Lasso.

Facebook-owned Lasso, an application that was launched as a competition to TikTok, is going to be shut down next week, more precisely on July 10. Facebook has placed multiple bets across its family of applications, trying to learn how people want to express themselves and Lasso was one such experiment for the social media giant. Clearly, Lasso did not work as well as Facebook would have liked which is possibly why it has decided to pull the plug on it.

Facebook said it was thankful to all those who helped in building the application, right from creative side to feedback. The application that allowed users to create short video content, similar to TikTok, was launched one and a half years ago in 2018. Users could create a video of up to 15 seconds over popular songs using Lasso. They were also allowed to access some recommended videos and discover content through hashtags. Lasso was used by the young generation across China and the West. Until February, the app was available in the US, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Uruguay and Ecuador.

It is to note that the application also upgraded its support system this year with the addition of Hindi language indicating its interest for the Indian market. Meanwhile, it is still unclear as to why Lasso was not being expanded to more markets. The application has had a rough start as its developer Brady Voss left the company a few days after Lasso was launched.

The video making application was used by around 80,000 users on a daily basis that too on Android. The application has reportedly been not doing well with users on iOS. Facebook has recently announced that it is also shutting down another application called Hobbi which enabled users to document their personal projects.