In October, Twitter announced that it would be shutting down Vine, the app that allowed people to create and stream six-second video clips that were just like gifs but way more annoying. Many social media users mourned the eventual loss of their noisy and repetitive bullshit, but Twitter made it clear that it wouldn’t be cutting off anyone’s access to their beloved Vines until some nebulous future date. Unfortunately, that day has now come, and every six-second video of you screaming about something or talking to your dog will now be eradicated from the universe. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, beloved Vines, because the bell tolls for thee!
Actually, that’s all only somewhat true. According to Pitchfork, Vine users have until January 17 to download their Vines, because after that the Vine app will be replaced by the Vine Camera app. The “new” app seems like it will be largely similar to the old one, but instead of a dedicated Vine-based social network, it will all connect to Twitter. Also, if you miss that date and forget to download your videos—of if you’re just a really big fan of someone else’s six-second screams and dog conversations—all of the videos will be archived and accessible on the Vine website.
In other words, very little about Vine is actually going to change. Assuming you’re not a miserable bastard who hates loud and repetitive noises, that’s probably good news.