Image-Sharing app PicPlz admits defeat, telling users to export all data by 3rd July.
The developers of image-sharing app PicPlz have announced that the service will shut down on July 3rd. Users of the Android and iPhone apps have until then to export their pictures, otherwise they will lose their data.
PicPlz came forward in 2010 as a competitor to Instagram, and, in the beginning, seemed to be one step ahead of Facebook’s latest acquisition. At the time, PicPlz was the only service where users could access their photos online as well as through the app, share them with friends, and see what kind of pictures others were taking. The app’s Evernote integration was also a popular feature among fans.
Somewhere along the road, however, Instagram caught up, and as more image-sharing apps emerged, PicPlz retained a good user base, but lost out in the iOS popularity stakes to other free apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic.
For a long time, PicPlz’s survival was due to the fact that it was one of the only photo-sharing options for Android users. Although it took a while for Instagram to release their an Android version of their app, the inevitable recently happened. With Instagram’s entrance to the Android market, and their enormous, highly-publicized Facebook buyout, it’s possible that PicPlz decided that the time had come to bow out gracefully.
According to TechCrunch, PicPlz board member Dalton Caldwell revealed that the team behind PicPlz is focusing on PinFlip, a recently-launched iOS app for Pinterest members.
The announcement that the developers are shutting the app down came as a surprise to many. With $5 million in start-up funding, however, (more than Instagram) and no income from users, the app seems to be the latest free service to cut their losses and move on.
The developers made the following announcement on their blog on June 1st:
“It has been a pleasure bringing picplz to our users, but we have decided to move on to other projects and have made the tough decision to shut it down.
On July 3, 2012, picplz will shut down permanently, and all photos and user data will be deleted. Until then, users may download their own photos by clicking on the download link next to each photo in their photo feed.”
PicPlz is no longer available in the app store, and users who have stored images with the photo-sharing service should remove them by July 3rd, when all data will be deleted. Two days after their initial announcement, PicPlz revealed that they have released an export solution for mass downloading to avoid leaving their most loyal and dedicated customers in the lurch.
Hannah is a freelance writer from London, UK. Having completed a degree in English, she discovered a passion for all things digital, and enjoys nothing more than writing about online communication, marketing and anything Apple-related. When she's not researching the latest app releases or ogling new gadgets, Hannah enjoys writing about personal development, yoga, and exploring the world. | Google Plus
