Vine Was Shut Down Years Ago — But Elon Musk May Bring it Back

When the six-second video app Vine shut down in 2017, it made way for other platforms like TikTok to take its place in the carousel of social media sites. Although TikTok has continued to rise in influence, the U.S. government recently passed a bill to ban the app — leaving some to wonder if this is an opportunity to bring Vine back.

There's some evidence that Vine could have a relaunch, but nothing is set in stone just yet. Here's what we know.

Ever since Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now rebranded to X), he's made many decisions about the platform via polls. He stepped down as CEO of the company after a poll on the site voted in favor of his removal, and has also reinstated various public figures because the majority of in-app poll voters said he should.

On April 17, Elon ran another poll, asking if he should bring back Vine. With more than two million votes, the consensus was 69.6% in favor of bringing back the short-form video app.

Long before Twitter was owned by the Telsa CEO, Twitter purchased Vine before its launch in 2013. The app was only available for four short years, with the company announcing it would be shut down in 2017. When Elon took over Twitter in 2022, he immediately toyed with the idea of bringing Vine back — though it's possible he's just now making good on his promises.

That said, there's no confirmation that Vine is coming back just yet, as a poll online isn't confirmation that the app will soon be available to download again. But depending on how the TikTok ban continues to play out, Elon's poll may just lead to the site getting a revival.

There are a handful of reasons Vine was initially shut down, though it seemed to be rooted in the app's inability to change with the times. As TikTok has continued to grow in popularity, it's begun to allow users to upload longer videos, with some videos on the app lasting as long as 10 minutes. Despite the changing times, Vine never strayed from its six-second format.

Though some claim Vine's six-second cap was what made it particularly iconic, it also placed significant limitations on creators. As some of the site's top creators looked to monetize their content through Vine, the company refused to offer the funds, forcing these creators to seek out other apps to create their content on. TikTok has the Creator Fund which, despite being controversial, offers a way for creators to make money directly from the videos they post online.

Ultimately, the app's inability to evolve and support the creators who made users open it often was its downfall, and as the company's top executives slowly left, it seemed Vine had no future. This is what ultimately led to Twitter's decision to shut it down, but by then many had already moved on.

Elon has had some controversial ideas to run X since his takeover, but depending on the moves made for a Vine revival, the app could be the next popular short-form video platform.