Vine Is Returning as Byte, Launching in 2019

Dom Hofmann, the co-creator of Vine, has officially announced its spiritual successor. It’s called Byte, and it’s a new looping video app that has emerged from his efforts to create Vine v2. And if everything goes according to plan Byte will arrive in Spring 2019.

A Brief History of Vine

Vine arrived on the scene in 2012. It offered a simple way of recording short looping videos of up to six seconds long. Vine caught so much early buzz that Twitter also acquired it in 2012, even before it had officially launched.

After launch, Vine gained an impressive userbase, and by 2015 boasted 200 million active users. Unfortunately, Twitter got cold feet, and in 2016, Twitter killed Vine. However, Dom Hofmann, one of Vine’s co-creators, seems determined to bring it back.

The New Vine Is Called Byte

Hofmann has been working on Vine v2 since November 2017, building a community of fans to help him. Unfortunately, in May 2017, Hofmann postponed Vine v2 indefinitely, citing “financial and legal hurdles” and claiming the “legal fees have been overwhelming”.

However, Hofmann has obviously persevered with Vine v2, which is now called Byte. Byte is described as “a new looping video app by the creator of Vine,” but how similar it will be to Vine remains to be seen. Twitter obviously won’t look kindly on an exact copy.

our new looping video app is called byte. launching spring 2019 pic.twitter.com/C3FMvkcIwc

— dom hofmann (@dhof) November 8, 2018

Byte already has a website, but don’t expect much from it. At the time of writing there’s just a logo, links to Byte’s social media accounts, and a link to the Vine v2 community. However, you can sign up by email for forthcoming updates all about Byte.

Byte Is Still a Work in Progress

Beyond the new name and the planned launch date, details are thin on the ground. We know this is going to be a looping video app in the same vein as Vine. We also know that Byte is the Vine v2 Hofmann has been developing for over a year. But nothing beyond that.

Despite only being around for a few years, Vine changed the social media landscape. Short videos are now everywhere, and some early Vine celebrities are still with us. Including Logan Paul. And even before Byte launches, there are some good Vine alternatives.

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