Facebook is shutting down the college social network you didn't use

Did Facebook's college-focused Campus social network leave you feeling cold? You're not the only one. Consultant Matt Navarra and TechCrunch report parent company Meta is shutting down Facebook's Campus pilot project on March 10th. In a message to users, Facebook said it had learned the "best way" to help students was through college groups.

Facebook will delete Campus profiles, posts and other data after the cutoff date. You can download any data before then, however, and Facebook is suggesting related school groups to help ease the transition.

The Campus pilot launched in September 2020 as a partial throwback to the original student-focused Facebook. You needed a .edu address to sign up — in theory, this let the college crowd mingle without relatives and other outsiders poking in. It was only available from the "More" section of Facebook, though, and didn't get its own app. You might not have known Campus existed, in other words, and it wasn't clear this was a truly separate space.

The closure comes just days after Instagram said it would shut down its standalone IGTV app in mid-March, and reflects a long history of Meta brands pulling apps and services that don't pan out. Meta still appears content to take risks on products, and it won't hesitate to drop those products if they fail.