Instagram users may soon lose their favourite filter as Meta gears up for major shift

Instagram, Facebook and more are losing support for AR-powered filters in 2025. Here are the details.

Instagram has had AR filters for a while now, and losing them may leave bad taste for both users and creators. (Meta)

Are you an Instagram user who swears by using  pretty third-party face filters and AR effects? Well, there's sad news for you: Meta is removing them from across its platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and even Messenger. Additionally, it is also going to remove Meta Spark third-party tools used to create them. Meanwhile, Meta's own in-house AR Effects will continue to be offered to users across the apps.

Meta AR Filters: Why Are They Being Taken Down?

Meta hasn't given a concrete reason, but it says that this decision is part of its “larger efforts to prioritise the products” that the company believes best suit the needs of its users. That said, removing AR filters from the platform means that Meta won't compete with the likes of Snapchat when it comes to face filters. 

However, the creators who used the Meta Spark platform are not going to be happy, especially considering the fact that Meta is stripping away potential business from them. We have seen how Meta Spark has been used by creators to come up with marketing ideas for brands, interactive games, and more. Many designers do indeed design filters for brands as their main line of work, so this is bound to hurt them going forward.

When Is Meta Shutting Down Spark AR Filters?

Meta notes in its blog post that it will end support for Spark third-party content and tools on 14 January 2025. That said, if you have used any third-party filters to create content on Meta platforms in the past, that content won't be affected by this change and will continue to be present.

Also, Meta is urging creators who have made AR effects and filters to save their project files, assets, and demo videos before the sunsetting date, which is 14 January 2025. Meta also says that if users need to showcase the AR effects they have built, they will need to do so using a portfolio on an external website.