Meta shuts down its couples messaging app you didn't know existed

We hope you aren't using Meta's Tuned experimental app to nurture your relationship. Gizmodo reports that Meta is shutting down Tuned on September 19, and attempts to sign up for the couples app are now throwing errors. The company did not hesitate to explain the reasons for its move. In a statement to Engadget, a spokesperson said Meta's New Product Experimentation team terminates apps if they "don't stick".

The NPE team at Meta (then Facebook) launched Tuned in April 2020 to provide partners with a "private space" where they could share feelings, love notes, challenges, and music streams. The timing was opportune (if unintended) given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In theory, it helped estranged couples cement their bonds when they couldn't connect in person.

However, the number of people who have used the app is not certain. While Meta brought the initially iOS-only software to Android and said there were "many couples" using Tuned to bond, there's no doubt that Tuned has remained a niche product compared to Facebook or Instagram. Chances are you're hearing about this app for the first time, after all. We would add that there was little point in being able to text, video chat, or use existing services to accomplish many of the same goals.

You may have seen this coming. Meta routinely shut down experimental apps and even removed high-profile apps when they failed to gain popularity. These shutdowns help the company save resources and focus on more popular platforms. As it stood, Tuned was increasingly an outlier for a tech giant shifting its focus from social media to the metaverse.

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