YouTube stories are over. YouTube Stories will close on June 26, 2023, as the business shifts its focus to Shorts, Community postings, and live videos in addition to long-form content. YouTube said forum posts, in-app messaging, YouTube Studio reminders, and more would notify creators of the shutdown.
Stories have declined since TikTok’s ascent. So instead of Stories, services are using TikTok’s vertical video format.
Not only YouTube has abandoned Stories. On its mobile app, Netflix previously attempted a Stories-like feature called “Extras” to share popular show footage and photographs. However, the streamer embraced vertical video with the advent of “Fast Laughs” and a vertical video feature for youngsters. LinkedIn discontinued Stories in 2021. Spotify recently added Stories to artist profiles, but its makeover promotes TikTok-like discovery channels.
In 2018, YouTube opened Stories to producers with over 10,000 followers, but it never expanded access to everyone on YouTube to allow casual, personal sharing to take off. Instead, the firm suggested artists utilize Stories for behind-the-scenes updates, vlogs, sneak peeks at upcoming videos, brief updates, and more between their more polished and produced videos.
YouTube Stories, like Instagram and Snapchat Stories, disappeared after seven days. However, unlike Instagram’s Story Highlights, creators couldn’t save Stories.
Given the success of other interaction tools like Community postings, which let artists provide brief updates, promote their material, and chat with followers, the function received limited uptake. However, in today’s release, YouTube admitted that Community posts drove “many times more comments and likes” than Stories for creators who used both. As a result, YouTube removed the >500 subscriber restriction for Community postings.
YouTube Shorts has also attracted short-form video creators. The business says creators who used both got “many times more subscribers” on Shorts than Stories.
A YouTube spokeswoman told TechCrunch that creators benefited from the modifications as Shorts’ popularity expanded. As a result, we’re eliminating stories to focus on creators’ achievements. “We’ll keep investing in creators’ growth and audience engagement across formats,” they said.
In addition to a community forum post, Stories creators will receive notifications in YouTube Studio, Help Center content, and a forthcoming Creator Insider video. Additionally, if creators use the feature before June 26, Stories will notify them immediately.
YouTube said it would no longer allow new YouTube Stories, but existing ones will remain available for seven days.