100,000 users in 6 days: The legendary video format returns
Nine years after the shutdown of Vine, the Divine app offers six-second looped videos. Launched on August 20, the service has already gained over 100,000 users and restored approximately 170,000 archived clips.
Nine years after the shutdown of Vine, a new app called Divine is attempting to revive the format of six-second looped videos — without any official connection to the original platform or the social network X (formerly Twitter). According to E! News, the app hit stores on August 20, nine months after an early beta version, and has already attracted over 100,000 users.
"I want to see creative, human, and weird things," the app's founder, a former Twitter employee known only by the nickname Rabble, told CNN. "There is a way in which AI produces a kind of mediocrity."
Divine's website states that it aims to bring joy and creativity back to short-form video. The company emphasizes that it does not store user data on central servers. According to the developers, creators retain full ownership of their content: no single company controls your material or can delete it. In addition, Divine promises content free of AI-generated spam and claims that, unlike TikTok, there is no algorithmic manipulation of the feed.
Registration is structured differently: accounts operate with special encryption through the Divine server. Users must enter an email address, choose a password, and confirm their registration via a verification email.
Although Divine has no official connection to Vine, it leans heavily on nostalgia. The company imported public Vine videos from archives created by volunteers and restored about 170,000 old clips. The original Vine platform was founded in June 2012 by Rus Yusupov, Colin Kroll, and Dom Hofmann; it was acquired by Twitter for $30 million six months later, but struggled to compete with Instagram and was shut down in 2017. Among those whose careers were boosted there were Shawn Mendes, Brittany Furlan, and brothers Jake and Logan Paul.
The app is available in Apple and Android stores in Israel. The interface resembles TikTok or Instagram Reels, allowing users to like, share, and comment. Each video displays a loop counter. The default screen is FOR YOU, but users can switch to Following, NEW, and Classics. In the classics category, you can find old videos labeled with their original year — for example, clips from 2015 with nearly 7 million loops.
This is not the only nostalgic comeback currently happening on the web. Myspace, which was active in Israel and primarily associated with musicians, is also on the path to a return, according to owners Chris and Tim Vanderhook. "We are still the owners of Myspace," said Tim in the new documentary film "Myspace" by Tommy Avallone. "We are keeping the brand and plan to relaunch. We are just waiting for the right time to do it."
