MSQRD, the Facebook-owned augmented reality app, is shutting down. Facebook is pulling the plug on April 13, removing MSQRD from app stores and shuttering the whole project. This move comes four years after Facebook acquired MSQRD in 2016.
The Rise of AR Filters
There was a time not so long ago when augmented reality face filters were something out of science fiction. Then several apps, included MSQRD, starting building apps which utilized the technology. Allowing people to become something else, at least virtually.
Love my new MSQRD app. ?? have so much fun with it ? @msqrdme pic.twitter.com/w1qSgv5yAR
— Deborah Sütö (@whoisdeborah) March 15, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg liked what he saw, and Facebook acquired MSQRD for an undisclosed sum of money. Facebook promised that MSQRD would continue to be developed. However, four years on, with no updates since 2016, MSQRD is being put out to pasture.
Facebook Kills the MSQRD App
When the MSQRD team joined Facebook they were put to work building Spark AR, Facebook’s AR platform that allows users to create custom face filters
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. Which left little time for MSQRD, which has been left to rot ever since it became part of Facebook.
Now, as announced on the MSQRD Facebook page, “on April 13, the MSQRD app will be going away.” The MSQRD team thanks the community before confirming that its “focus is now on delivering you the best-possible AR experiences through Spark AR.”
While we’re sure most people will remember MSQRD, and some will miss it, augmented reality is now everywhere. Anyone can just open Instagram or Snapchat and apply a face filter to become a dog, rabbit, or any other such nonsense. So MSQRD is unnecessary.
The Best Snapchat Filters to Use
While Mark Zuckerberg won’t want to hear this, Snapchat is probably the king of filters right now. There are literally thousands of Snapchat filters available, and we have compiled a list of the best Snapchat filters and lenses
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to use on your photos.