If you’re an active content creator, chances are you’re familiar with YouTube Stories. This feature has traditionally been used to share amusing moments that fans of a particular channel can enjoy before they vanish or are automatically deleted after a week. But what prompted the decision to shut down this feature starting next month?
Closure of YouTube Stories in the Pipeline
As mentioned earlier, YouTube Stories will officially be shut down next month, specifically on June 26, 2023. The announcement came through YouTube’s official documentation page, where users were informed about the impending closure. You can find more details about the closure of this feature by visiting this link.
According to the documentation, YouTube made the decision to close Stories in order to shift its focus towards other widely used features like Community Posts, Shorts, and Live. This move may have been influenced by the requirement of having a minimum of 10,000 subscribers to access Stories, which was deemed overly burdensome.
Functionality-wise, Stories on YouTube is similar to what you would find on platforms like WhatsApp, with the key difference being the extended duration to reach a global audience. Moreover, users have the option to add videos, mentions, or locations to their Stories.
Defeated by YouTube Shorts?
Features aren’t typically phased out or discontinued due to trivial reasons, as developers usually strive to innovate and improve their overall functionality.
However, the same cannot be said for YouTube Stories. According to the YouTube documentation, there are several factors contributing to its closure, including:
- Limited accessibility to all creators: Only those with a minimum of 10,000 subscribers were able to try out the feature, leaving many creators unable to utilize it.
- Restricted duration: Stories only allowed for 15-second videos, which some creators found to be too short for their needs.
- Lack of integration with other features: One of the major drawbacks was the inability for viewers to revisit Stories from their favorite creators, as the feature didn’t seamlessly integrate with other YouTube functionalities.
As a result of these considerations, YouTube made the tough call to close down Stories and redirect their efforts towards the development of other features that have demonstrated greater success and wider appeal.
