Meta will be shutting down the Meta Sparks platform on January 14, 2025. On that date, any augmented reality (AR) effects built on Meta Spark by third-party creators will be removed from Meta products—including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger— and Meta Spark products (Meta Spark Studio, Meta Spark Hub, and Meta Spark Player) will no longer be accessible.

“After thorough consideration, it was determined that Meta will prioritize investments in other company priorities. As a result, we’re not able to continue to support the Meta Spark platform long term,” said the company in a statement.

For AR creators or businesses who have published AR effects on Meta’s social media platforms, the company recommends downloading and saving all project files, assets, and demo videos ahead of the shutdown; it also recommends creating a portfolio on an external website for those who want to continue to showcase the AR effects built using Meta Spark tools.

First-party AR effects—the ones created and owned by Meta itself—will remain, and users will be able to access them on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Meta has also pledged to maintain the platform—including bug fixes—until January 14, 2025.

As for ad campaigns, the company says “We don’t anticipate that there will be future opportunities to partner with Meta to create custom AR content for mobile-first platforms like Facebook and Instagram.”

Despite this closure, Meta says it is still committed to the metaverse and augmented reality, stating “Meta is committed to our long-term investments in new computing platforms that will bring us beyond today’s 2D experiences on mobile. 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.”

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