Facebook quits TikTok competitor Lasso

Facebook is shutting down its TikTok competitor Lasso. The app was released in a limited number of countries at the end of 2018. Lasso will no longer function after July 10, Facebook has informed users.

Users can save their own videos to their device via their smartphone’s share menu, the notification to users states that a user has put online. Lasso was to become a competitor to ByteDance’s TikTok, the short video app that has rapidly gained popularity in recent years.

Facebook has released Lasso in a limited number of countries, including home country United States and many South American countries. The idea was to gain market share there before TikTok became popular there. The app came out in November 2018, but it never became popular.

The company is now trying to respond to the popularity of TikTok in a different way. Instagram is getting the Reels feature, which makes it possible to post TikTok-like videos with licensed music in Stories. In addition, there will also be a dedicated area for Reels-only videos. The feature is already available in Germany and France, but not yet in the Benelux.