YouTube is shutting down its Stories platform, a feature used by influencers to post temporary video messages.

First unveiled in 2017, Stories will officially shut down on June 26, with all existing videos set to expire permanently after seven days. For users still using YouTube Stories, the company is suggesting switching to the newer Shorts feature or simply using Community Posts to communicate with followers. YouTube says both are “great alternatives that can drive valuable audience connections and conversations.”

Stories never really caught on, perhaps because of some inherent limitations. The Stories tool, which started out as Reels, was only available to YouTubers with more than 10,000 subscribers. Stories also disappear after a certain time, a feature borrowed from Snapchat.

As for Shorts, it’s YouTube’s answer to TikTok and has gained quite a bit of traction since its launch in 2020. The video-based social media platform has also recently invested more in its Communities toolset, expanding access to more creators and integrating many of the features originally used to create Stories. For example, there are some extensive editing tools and the ability to automatically expire posts after 24 hours. Community posts are primarily text-based, so YouTube has added new engagement features like polls, quizzes, filters, and stickers.