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Huddles (app)

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Huddles
Other names
  • V2 (code name)
  • Byte
Original author(s)Brendon McNerney & Dom Hofmann
Developer(s)Byte Inc. (2017–2021)
Clash App, Inc. (2021–2023)
Initial releaseJanuary 24, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-01-24) – May 3, 2023; 18 months ago (2023-05-03)
Final release
3.0.2 (iOS)
3.0.2 (Android)
Operating system
  • iOS
  • Android
PredecessorVine
Size66.3 MB (iOS)
26.5 MB (Android)
Available in41 languages
TypeVideo sharing
LicenseProprietary software
Websitehuddlesapp.co[usurped]

Huddles (originally Clash, Byte (via Acquisition), and later Huddles) was an American short-form video hosting service and creator monetization platform social network where users could create looping videos that are between 2–16 seconds long. It was created by a team led by Brendon McNerney and PJ Leimgruber who formerly worked together at NeoReach, Inc. Dom Hofmann was involved as the architect of much of the code, as the founder of Byte, a successor to Vine, which Hofmann co-founded, until the project was sold to Clash App, Inc. and subsequently renamed.

Initially teased as v2, it was branded as Byte in November 2018. After a three-year closed beta, it officially launched on Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store on January 24, 2020. It was later sold to Clash, another short-form video app, a year later. Both apps thus merged into a single app called Clash, which was then later renamed to Huddles. It was discontinued on May 3, 2023.

History

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Byte's logo during beta in 2018

Byte's predecessor, Vine, was founded in June 2012. It was acquired by Twitter in October 2012. It underwent a staggered update on iOS,[1] Android,[2] and Windows Phone[3] systems throughout much of 2013. The main Vine app was shut down by Twitter in January 2017,[4][5] disallowing all new videos to be uploaded. The Vine homepage was made into an archive, with users being able to view previously uploaded content. As of 2019, the archive is no longer available, though individual videos are still able to be accessed via their direct link.[6]

Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann announced in December 2017 that he intended to launch a successor to Vine.[7][8] At the time, he called it "v2".[9] In May 2018, he posted an update that the project was being put on hold. Among other things, he said that the biggest reason for this was "financial and legal hurdles". He said that his intention was to fund the new service himself as a personal project, but the attention that the announcement generated suggested that the cost to build and run a service that was sustainable at launch would be too high.[10] In November, he announced that the project was moving forward again with funding and a team, under the new "Byte" branding. At the time, the website invited users to sign up for updates and for content creators to join its "creator program".[11] The partner program was shut down in August, with the byte team announcing that they "will be using this time to take everything [they've] learned and apply it toward future opportunities and programs".[12]

Byte was officially launched to the public on the iOS and Android platforms in over 40 countries on January 24, 2020,[13] with the tagline "creativity first". Additionally, the company has promised a program that intends to compensate creators for their work.[14][15] In the media Byte was referred to as a direct competitor to TikTok and Likee, similar video sharing platforms popular with teens.[16][17][18][19]

On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Clash, another short-form video app, would be acquiring Byte. The deal was finalized the following month,[20] with both apps merging into a single one called Clash.[21][22] After months of beta testing, Clash was publicly available on App Store on October 12, 2021. It became available for Android two months later[23] in 41 languages.[24]

On May 3, 2023, Huddles announced its discontinuation as a standalone service via a series of tweets[25] and a Medium blog post.[26] The company began to remove the Huddles app from the Apple's App Store and Google Play Store in a phased manner, with the process commencing immediately upon announcement.[25] According to Huddles, the aim of this decision was to avoid having an inactive login screen visible to users. The Medium post titled "Huddles is joining a larger Creator family"[26] provided more context on the development, revealing that Huddles was transitioning towards becoming part of a broader 'Creator family'. Further details about what this 'Creator family' entails or how Huddles' integration would unfold were not disclosed in the initial announcement.

Features

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Huddles allowed users to publish videos that are between 2–16 seconds long, either captured through the app or previously recorded and stored on their devices. Similarly to other social media platforms, Huddles allowed users to follow other accounts. New accounts automatically followed Huddles's official account on their service. The main home screen used to feature a scrollable feed of content from accounts that the user was following. The platform also supported the ability to "like" and "rebyte" videos (Rebyte functionality is no longer available). In November 2020, a color customizer and a chat feature were added.[citation needed] The app also featured a search screen with tiles for popular and latest content along with video categories like comedy, animation and others.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Vine: A new way to share video". blog.twitter.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  2. ^ Dredge, Stuart (2013-06-04). "Twitter Vine app launches on Android after attracting 13m iPhone users". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  3. ^ "Twitter Launches Vine for Windows Phone". PCMAG. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  4. ^ Roettgers, Janko (2016-10-27). "Twitter Is Shutting Down Vine". Variety. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  5. ^ Roettgers, Janko (2017-01-17). "It's Official: Twitter Has Shut Down Vine". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  6. ^ "Vine FAQs". help.twitter.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  7. ^ Blumenthal, Eli. "Ready for Vine 2.0? Co-founder teases new app". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  8. ^ Chang, Lulu (May 6, 2018). "Don't hold your breath for Vine 2 — it's on hold indefinitely, co-founder says". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 2018-06-09. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Is Vine Making A Comeback? Vine 2.0 Teased By Vine Co-Founder". www.inquisitr.com. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  10. ^ "Vine co-founder halts development of its replacement, v2". TechCrunch. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  11. ^ Browne, Ryan (2018-11-09). "Vine's co-founder says he's launching a new video-looping app called Byte next year". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  12. ^ "Partner Program - Back to the drawing board". the byte community forums. 2020-07-31. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  13. ^ Shannon Liao (25 January 2020). "Byte, the sequel to Vine and potential competitor to TikTok, launches on mobile". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  14. ^ a b Li, Abner (2020-01-25). "'Byte' brings back Vine, launches on Android and iOS". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  15. ^ byte (2020-01-24). "very soon, we'll introduce a pilot version of our partner program which we will use to pay creators. byte celebrates creativity and community, and compensating creators is one important way we can support both. stay tuned for more info". @byte_app. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  16. ^ "Byte, a TikTok rival from the co-founder of Vine, tops the U.S. App Store chart". adage.com. 2020-01-27. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  17. ^ "Vine Is Back and It's Already Beating TikTok in the App Store". Time. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  18. ^ Brown, Shelby. "Byte vs. TikTok: The apps vying to be Vine's successor in the hearts of Gen Z and snake people". CNET. Archived from the original on 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  19. ^ "TikTok rival Byte becomes 'most downloaded iPhone app' in US". Livemint. 2020-01-28. Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  20. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (26 January 2021). ""A Vine Reunion? Video Apps Clash and Byte Join Forces "". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021.
  21. ^ App, Clash (2021-01-27). "Byte App is Joining the Clash Family". Medium. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  22. ^ App, Clash (2021-05-28). "Clash: Announcing Early Beta Testing For Byte Creators". Medium. Archived from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  23. ^ App, Clash (2021-01-27). "One-time TikTok rival Byte relaunches as Clash, an app for video creators and their top fans". Medium. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  24. ^ "When will byte become available in my country?". help.byte.co. Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  25. ^ a b "hello friends as we continue to move the Huddles operation to its new home, we'll be removing the mobile app from both app stores so it's not just a login screen sitting there staring at you like that awkward kid in class we're beginning this process today through next week". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  26. ^ a b Huddles (2023-03-17). "Huddles is joining a larger Creator family". Medium. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
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