YouTube Stories are Shutting Down on June 26

Stories are over — at least on YouTube, that is. The Google-owned video site is killing off its version of the feature on June 26.

Any stories posted before that date will vanish seven days after they're uploaded. The company aims to focus on other key areas, like Shorts, Community posts, and live videos, in addition to its traditional long-form content.

YouTube first said in late 2017 that it was testing the format — funnily enough, YouTube Stories were originally called "reels". The platform changed its name and rolled out the feature more broadly the following year.

Social media users have seen many platforms incorporate a Story feature over the last several years after Snapchat popularized the format, most notably Instagram.

YouTube probably doesn't need both Stories and its TikTok-style Shorts, which aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

The service also noted creators can use Community posts to share quick updates with their audiences.YouTube said that, among creators who use "posts and Stories, posts on average drive many times more comments and likes compared to Stories."