Weights Is Shutting Down — and I’m Genuinely Heartbroken

I didn’t think I’d be writing this kind of post in January 2026, but here we are.

Weights is shutting down on March 31st, 2026. And I’m not even being dramatic when I say I feel genuinely heartbroken about it.

Not because a website is a website (it is), but because this keeps happening—over and over—and it’s starting to feel like the internet I grew up with is being quietly dismantled in slow motion.

I started using Weights in summer 2023, back when I was deep in my “AI covers era.” It became one of those tools that just… stayed open in a tab. The kind of site you don’t think about until you suddenly can’t imagine your workflow without it. I made so many covers through it. Not perfect covers. Not “human-made” covers. But covers that helped me visualize my stories, build moodboards, design mockups, and keep going when motivation was low.

And now it’s going away.

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This Is Why I Keep Saying: Back Up Everything

I’m going to sound like a broken record, but I don’t care:

Always, always, always, always, always back up your things.

Because you never know what’s going to shut down next.

Four years ago, it was Sweek.com—a whole writing platform that people built communities on, and it just vanished.
Movellas has basically been in this weird “AI reconstruction / limbo” state for about two and a half years now.
Quotev removed private messages.
Wattpad removed private messages.

And now Weights is shutting down.

Even if you personally don’t care about Weights, you should care about what it represents: the fact that nothing online is guaranteed, even if it feels stable today.

The internet is changing forever, and sometimes it feels like we’re watching the “old web” get boxed up and placed in storage—one platform at a time.

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Yes, I’m Heartbroken… and Yes, I Also Get It

Here’s the complicated part:

I’m devastated. But I also can see why it’s happening.

If you were around last year, you probably remember the big wave of changes Weights introduced around July 2025. That’s when a lot of people turned against it—hard. People started boycotting it, leaving, refusing to support it.

And I’ll be honest: I was lowkey one of those people.

Not in a performative way. Not in a “look at me, I’m morally superior” way. More like… I felt disappointed. I felt like something shifted. And I didn’t feel the same using it anymore.

So yeah—this is one of those situations where I can hold two truths at the same time:

• I’m heartbroken that it’s ending.
• And I understand why the platform couldn’t keep going the way it was.

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The Controversial Part: AI Has Helped Me So Much

I know what people want me to say right now.

They want a clean, morally tidy statement like:
“AI is evil. AI is theft. AI is the death of art. The end.”

But my relationship with AI has never been that simple.

AI has helped me for almost three years now.
Not just with visuals, but with writing, brainstorming, editing, structure, motivation—everything.

And yes… even emotionally.

Because sometimes I spiral. Sometimes I feel lonely. Sometimes I have no one to talk to. And having an AI tool to help me untangle my thoughts has been genuinely supportive in ways people don’t like to admit out loud.

So I’m not going to pretend this doesn’t matter to me.

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“AI Art Isn’t Art” — I Don’t Agree (But I Get the Debate)

This is where people will get mad, but I’m going to say it anyway:

I still think AI art is art.

Not in the same way human art is. Not with the same soul, or intent, or lived experience behind it. But it is still a form of creative output, and for a lot of writers, it’s become a practical tool for visualizing ideas.

The reality is this:

AI is part of the creative ecosystem now, and pretending it isn’t won’t stop it from existing. What matters is how we use it, how we credit, how we support human creators, and how we build ethical habits while still acknowledging that these tools have helped a lot of people create.

I also think that if you allow AI to replace you, then yes—it will. But if you don’t, if you make space for yourself and learn how to work with it, then it won’t replace you. You can use it to make your work better, more balanced, or simply more aligned with what you need it to be.

And Weights—whatever your opinion of it—was one of those tools.

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What Weights Said (and What You Need to Do Before March 31, 2026)

Weights published a farewell announcement in January 2026. The core message is clear:

“After much reflection, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down Weights on March 31st, 2026.”

And the important practical part:

“Please make sure to download any creations… You can request a full export of your account data…”

So here’s the part I’m begging you to take seriously:

Before March 31, 2026, do this:

• Download your creations (everything you care about, even if you think you’ll “remember later”).
• Export your account data (if the platform offers it—do it now, not “sometime”).
• Use any remaining credits (they won’t exist after shutdown).
• Save your models / files / anything you trained or uploaded (if applicable).
• Screenshot settings + workflows you’ll want to recreate elsewhere.
• Make a folder on your computer right now and drop everything into it.
  Not “eventually.” Today.

And after March 31, 2026, Weights says the website, apps, and services will be gone permanently—and content won’t be accessible.

They also mentioned that Replay will be unaffected (still available), just without future updates.

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The Bigger Fear: Losing the Internet as a “Place”

I think this is what actually gets me.

It’s not just losing a tool. It’s losing another piece of the internet.

Another platform disappears, and with it goes:

• people’s work,
• their creative history,
• their routines,
• their comfort websites,
• the little corners they used to exist in.

And I’m scared of what the internet becomes when everything is either:

1. aggressively monetized,
2. stripped of community features, or
3. killed off entirely.

We’ve lost so many things over the years. Sometimes I just want to cry about it. I’m not even joking.

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I Hope There’s a Better Alternative (And I Hope It Lasts)

If you loved Weights, I’m sorry. I’m right there with you.

And if you hated Weights, you still should pay attention—because this is bigger than one website.

I truly hope people find better tools. Better platforms. Better options that are sustainable and transparent. I hope creators have choices.

But mostly?

I hope this pushes more of us to build creative habits that don’t rely on a single platform staying alive forever.

Because the lesson keeps repeating, whether we like it or not:

Nothing online is permanent unless you make it permanent.

So back it up. Back it up twice.
Email it to yourself. Put it on a hard drive. Put it in cloud storage.
Whatever you have to do.

Just don’t leave your work at the mercy of a shutdown announcement.

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If you used Weights too, feel free to comment (or message me wherever you can still message people these days… because apparently even that’s disappearing). I’d love to hear what you made with it—and what you’re planning to do next.