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OpenAI Discontinues Sora Web and App Experiences on April 26

OpenAI shut down the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, as part of a phased discontinuation. The Sora API remains available until September 24, 2026. Users were directed to export their generated videos and images via a dedicated portal before permanent data deletion.

Tech Insights Reporter Apr 26, 2026 4 min read San Francisco

TLDR

On April 26, 2026, OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and mobile app experiences, ending user access to the text-to-video generation tool through those interfaces. The Sora API will continue until September 24, 2026. Users were instructed to export content immediately through a sunset portal at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, after which associated data will be permanently deleted.

Shutdown Timeline and Details

OpenAI had announced the broader discontinuation of Sora earlier in 2026. The phased execution reached a key milestone on April 26:

April 26, 2026: Sora web and app experiences discontinued. No new generations or access via the consumer interfaces.
September 24, 2026: Sora API scheduled for discontinuation.

The move aligns with OpenAI's stated shift in priorities toward other areas, including coding tools, enterprise offerings, and robotics/world simulation research.

User Impact and Data Export

OpenAI provided explicit guidance for users:

Export generated videos and images by visiting sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and clicking Export. An email notification confirms when the download is ready.
Recommended immediate action.
After any final export window (if offered and notified by email), OpenAI will permanently delete Sora-associated data.
Refunds and credit questions route to standard ChatGPT subscription policies. Credits may be usable for other products such as Codex.

The company emphasized acting quickly to preserve work.

Background

Sora was unveiled as a major text-to-video model capable of generating realistic clips from text prompts. Its consumer app and platform saw rapid attention but also faced challenges in scaling, competition, and resource allocation. The March 2026 announcement of the wind-down included notes on pivoting the Sora research team toward physical AI and simulation work that supports robotics and real-world tasks. A related high-profile partnership discussion with Disney was also impacted around the announcement period.

Why this story matters

The actual shutdown date marks the end of direct consumer access to one of OpenAI's most visible generative media products. It illustrates the rapid iteration and deprecation cycles common in frontier AI, where tools can be introduced, adopted, and retired within a short window as companies reallocate compute and focus toward agentic systems, physical AI, and higher-margin enterprise use cases. For creators and developers who built workflows around Sora, the concrete export window and deletion policy provided a clear but finite transition period. The continuation of the API until September offers a limited bridge for programmatic users.

Sources

OpenAI Help Center: “What to know about the Sora discontinuation” (details on April 26 web/app shutdown and September 24 API date). https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152-what-to-know-about-the-sora-discontinuation
OpenAI/Sora team announcement context (March 2026) regarding discontinuation and focus shift to robotics and other priorities.
Reporting from Reuters, BBC, and others confirming the March announcement and phased timeline leading to the April 26 execution.

Featured Image Alt Text

OpenAI Sora interface with sunset or shutdown imagery, representing the discontinuation of the web and app experiences on April 26, 2026