Facebook Kills Creative Labs, Its Internal Incubator, Plus Some Of Its Apps

Facebook has shut down its internal research group called Creative Labs. It also removed three apps that came from that group. The news was first shared by CNET. Below we explain what happened in very simple words.

What Was Creative Labs?

Creative Labs was an internal incubator at Facebook. An incubator is a small team that tries to build new products quickly, like a startup inside a big company. Facebook started Creative Labs about two years ago. The goal was to make Facebook more agile and to try new ideas that could grow into big products.

The team built several experimental apps. Some of them were meant to give users a different way to share photos, talk, or make videos. The idea was to see if any of these apps could become popular.

Apps That Were Shut Down

Three apps from Creative Labs were taken down from the app stores. They are:

• Slingshot – a photo‑sharing app that let users send pictures quickly.
• Rooms – a chat app that let people talk without using their real name. It was announced as Facebook’s first try at anonymous messaging.
• Riff – a community video app that let groups make short videos together.

All three apps were launched with excitement, but none of them became very popular. After the shutdown, Slingshot and Riff disappeared from the Google Play and Apple App stores. Users who already installed them can still use them, but no new users can download them. Rooms will stop working on December 23, and after that day it will disappear completely.

Why Did the Apps Not Succeed?

There are several simple reasons why the apps did not catch on.

• **Few users** – The apps never got enough people to use them every day. Without many users, the apps could not grow.
• **Little marketing** – Facebook did not spend a lot of money on ads or promotions for these apps. Most people never heard about them.
• **Strong competition** – There were already many similar apps on the market. For example, Instagram already handled photo sharing, and Snapchat handled short videos.
• **Missing features** – Rooms promised anonymous chat, but Facebook never added a way to stay anonymous in its main apps. Users could not do what the app promised.
• **No clear purpose** – The apps tried to be something new, but they did not fit well with what Facebook users already liked. This made it hard for them to find a steady audience.

Because of these problems, the apps could not attract the large audience Facebook hoped for. Without users, the apps could not make money or justify keeping them alive.

What Remains From Creative Labs?

Even though Creative Labs is closed, some of its work still lives on.

• Paper – a news‑reading app that competes with Flipboard. It still has a small but loyal user base.
• Moments – a photo‑sharing feature inside the main Facebook app. It has seen some growth because Facebook keeps improving it.
• Instagram Layout – a collage‑making tool that lets users combine several photos into one picture.
• Instagram Hyperlapse – a tool that makes smooth time‑lapse videos.

Facebook says it will keep supporting these apps. The company also promises to keep building new products, even without Creative Labs. The focus will be on adding useful features to the main Facebook and Instagram apps instead of launching many separate apps.

FAQ

What happened to the Rooms app?

Rooms was removed from the app stores and will stop working on December 23. After that date, users will no longer be able to open or use the app.

Can I still use Slingshot or Riff?

If you already installed Slingshot or Riff, you can still open them. However, new users cannot download them because they are no longer listed in the stores.

Why did Facebook not add anonymous chat to its main app?

Facebook announced that Rooms would let people chat without a real name, but the feature never made it into the main Facebook app. The company may have decided that anonymity did not fit its overall strategy.

Will Facebook create more new apps in the future?

Facebook said it will keep building new tools, but it will focus on adding them to existing apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger rather than launching many separate apps.

Conclusion

Facebook’s Creative Labs was a small team that tried to make new apps quickly. The team launched Slingshot, Rooms, and Riff, but none of them grew a large audience. Because of low usage and limited promotion, Facebook closed the lab and removed the apps. Some other projects, like Paper, Moments, Layout, and Hyperlapse, are still alive and will continue to get updates. Facebook now plans to add new ideas directly into its main apps instead of creating many separate products.