Meta is ending support for custom face filters in its apps

Meta is shutting down all third-party face filters and AR effects on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, along with the tools used to create them, on January 14th, 2025. That includes any created by brands and other third parties, the company wrote in a blog post today. Meta's own AR effects will continue to operate, however.

The Meta Spark platform is used to create face filters like those you'd see on Snapchat or TikTok that make you look old or reimagine you as a cartoon character, as well as AR games and ads. Any videos that have used Spark-based AR effects will stay up on Facebook, Instagram, and in messages sent over Messenger, the company says in its FAQ about the change.

Meta introduced its AR tools in 2017, giving it an answer to AR features Snapchat already had. It's been a popular part of the platform, and the change hasn't gone unnoticed by the platform's creators, as TechCrunch notes, pointing to complaints on Facebook's Meta Spark Community.

Meta writes that it's still committed to AR, through its "long-term investments in new computing platforms that will bring us beyond today's 2D experiences on mobile." Part of that involves "shifting resources" to other experiences, such as glasses. (It's expected to demonstrate its Orion AR glasses prototype at Meta Connect.)

Anyone who wants to save AR effects they've made with Meta Spark can do so using these instructions, copied from Meta's FAQ:

To download an AR effect file:

Log in to Meta Spark Hub.Click Effects.Click the effect you want to download.Click Files and download the file.

To download a demo video:

Log in to Meta Spark Hub.Click Effects.Click the effect you want to download.Click Details.Under Demo video, on the video, click the three dots (More options) and select Download.