Goodbye, Sora! OpenAI Discontinues Social App Amid Declining User Interest

OpenAI has officially announced the shutdown of Sora, its dedicated social media application, just six months after its high-profile launch. While the underlying Sora 2 generative model remains a technological milestone for video and audio synthesis, the standalone platform failed to maintain the necessary momentum to compete in the crowded social media landscape.

Modeled after the vertical-feed interface of TikTok, Sora was designed as an AI-native social network. Its most notable feature, originally termed “cameos” and later renamed “characters” following legal challenges, allowed users to create realistic digital avatars of themselves. The goal was to foster a new ecosystem of synthetic content creation.

However, the platform faced immediate scrutiny regarding its safety protocols. Despite OpenAI’s stated restrictions on generating likenesses of public figures without consent, the app was quickly populated with deepfakes of celebrities, political leaders, and historical figures. These incidents sparked significant ethical concerns from the public and the families of those depicted.

Data from Appfigures highlights a sharp trajectory of decline. Sora peaked in November 2026 with approximately 3.3 million downloads. By February, that figure had dropped to roughly 1.1 million. In comparison to ChatGPT’s 900 million weekly active users, the social app’s footprint remained marginal. Furthermore, the app generated only $2.1 million in lifetime revenue from in-app purchases—a figure insufficient to offset high computational costs and mounting legal liabilities.

The shutdown also marks the end of a potential landmark partnership with Disney. Although a licensing deal was explored to integrate iconic characters into the platform, the agreement reportedly collapsed alongside the app’s closure.

The discontinuation of the app does not signal the end of OpenAI’s video ambitions. The Sora 2 model will remain accessible to subscribers through the ChatGPT interface. This move suggests a strategic shift away from consumer social networking in favor of integrating generative video tools into OpenAI’s broader productivity and creative suite.