A new vertical video application named Divine has officially launched following nine months of development and beta testing, aiming to restore the format and human creativity of its pioneer predecessor, Vine.
In a bid to counter the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) generated content across social feeds, the platform has committed to a strict ban on AI-produced uploads.
The original six-second looping video app, Vine, was acquired by Twitter for $30 million in 2012 before being shut down in 2017 amid intense competition from rivals like Instagram.
Although Vine struggled to build a viable business model, it served as a launchpad for celebrities such as Logan Paul and Shawn Mendes and became a cornerstone of internet culture.
While Divine is inspired by the original format, it is not formally affiliated with Vine or its former owner X, previously known as Twitter.
Divine’s founder, an early Twitter employee known as Rabble, developed the app with backing from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
The platform already features a scrolling feed of six-second videos and grants users access to an archive of over two million original Vine posts, preserved for posterity by volunteer internet archivists.
Within its first week of launch, the app has secured approximately 100,000 users and announced its first commercial brand partnership with Taco Bell.
Speaking to CNN, Rabble expressed a desire to foster “weird” and creative human content, stating, “there’s a way in which AI generates this sort of mediocrity”.
To enforce its anti-AI stance, Divine is employing multiple detection methods to block AI-generated uploads, aligning with similar actions taken by major networks like Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Additionally, the platform addresses user frustrations regarding algorithmic control by offering transparency, explaining the mechanics behind its “For You” page, and allowing users to choose from alternative interest-focused feeds like animals or style.
Built on a decentralised digital infrastructure, like X rivals Mastodon and Bluesky, Divine allows users to easily migrate their content and profiles to other decentralised networks.
The open-source nature of the technology also enables people to establish independent online communities off-platform.
This launch coincides with a broader wave of internet nostalgia, highlighted by MySpace owners recently revealing plans to revive their platform.
Rabble noted that the current shift reflects deep-seated user frustration over lack of control on mainstream social platforms, particularly after Elon Musk’s acquisition of X.
“I look forward to a place where we can have a better idea of what healthy social media is, and where people think that it doesn’t have to be this sort of nightmarish hellscape,” Rabble said, adding that the loss of human agency over community norms has fostered a toxic online culture.
