Only a handful of days left and then, as happened previously on TikTok, there will no longer be the possibility of showing oneself on Instagram in an unnatural way.
No more filters
The word “unnatural” refers precisely to things not created by nature, so all those used and abused filters by almost everyone, when they post their photos on social media. What does this mean? No more faces made up with perfect skin without imperfections or colored eyes. Half, the company of Mark Zuckerberg which among other companies also manages Facebook And Instagramis preparing to say goodbye to beauty filters coming from third-party developers.
Goodbye to “Meta Spark”
Starting January 14, 2025, Half will discontinue the platform Meta Sparkuntil now used by developers external to the company to create beauty filters based on augmented reality. A company press release explains it:
“Following a thorough evaluation, we have made the decision to close the Meta Spark platform of third-party tools and content, effective Tuesday, January 14, 2025. This means that Augmented Reality (AR) effects made by third parties, including brands, and our broader community of AR creators, will no longer be available as of this date. Meta’s proprietary AR effects will continue to be available to our users across our entire family of apps”.
The “social” people rebel
One can only imagine, especially for those who work there with their own (fake) image, what the reaction was many usersbut both to these and to users and developers Meta explained that the decision was made after a: “In-depth evaluation which will allow the company to focus on the products it deems most promising for the future”.
Not all is lost
In all this ethically correct discussion, if we think about how filters can influence the vision of the self, especially on the new generations, there is however a sort of free zone. Because although third-party AR filters will disappear from social media, Meta will continue to offer i own effectswhether in augmented reality or not. In the category of filters that will continue to be present in the app in the future, there will also be those used for color correction.
“We are deeply grateful to the community of creators, companies and other key stakeholders who have been part of Meta Spark’s journey – the statement continues – When we first launched this platform seven years ago, augmented reality-infused experiences were new to most consumers. Since then, the imagination, innovation, and creativity of our community of AR creators have helped extend the reach of AR to hundreds of millions of people on Meta platforms”.
The “reality” behind the fiction
Just like the “purpose” advertised by Meta of safeguarding the new generations, in reality many are led to think that the thought behind this choice is something completely different, and would be the result of some innovations which the company launched on the market in recent months. For example, we talk about the new viewer AR Orion, presented during the event Meta Connect of September 2024.
Since it is an augmented reality system, one might think that the company wants to minimize competition on its main platform, thus pushing users towards the use of Meta tools.