Reddit has announced that it will shut down its live audio chat feature, Reddit Talk, on March 21. The feature was introduced less than two years ago but the company says it’s not killing off the feature due to a lack of interest. Reddit will be focusing on other priorities for now and sees audio features as a part of its future. In a post, Reddit stated that it has to make significant improvements in the subreddit infrastructure and make the app simpler before incorporating audio again.
Reddit initially planned to keep Talk live while they worked on other priorities. However, the third-party audio vendor that Reddit uses for Talk is shutting down its services. This means that the resources required to keep Talk live increased substantially during the transition. Reddit stated that discussions that took place after September 1 last year will be available to download from March 21 and can be downloaded until June 1.
While the popularity of live audio conversations with public audiences soared during the pandemic, interest in them seems to have dwindled. Clubhouse, a platform for audio-based conversations, saw an explosion in popularity after the pandemic’s onset, prompting other tech giants to develop their own versions. However, Clubhouse’s user numbers reportedly dropped and prominent hires have moved on. Spotify has ended production of some live audio shows, while Amazon reportedly laid off dozens of people who were working on its live radio service, AMP.
Discord has expanded Stage Channels to include video, and Twitter is trying to jumpstart Spaces with new updates. Reddit has not provided any timeline for the return of Talk or other audio features. On March 21, Reddit will also end the Happening Now experiment, which allowed users to see ongoing live chats and Reddit talks in subreddits they follow, and it highlighted popular conversations taking place on the platform.
