Migrating Users After a Platform Shutdown: Lessons From Meta’s Workrooms Sunset

When a platform shuts down, your users don't just lose an app — they lose years of content, social graphs, and live feeds. Here’s a practical, engineer-first guide to migrate user-generated content and feeds after a product sunset, using lessons learned from Meta’s Workrooms shutdown.

If you operate a VR/AR app or any service that hosts user content, the hardest part of a platform shutdown is not the engineering work — it’s proving trust to your users while moving their data safely, quickly, and transparently. In 2026, expectations are higher: users expect export APIs, solid retention disclosures, and seamless feed portability (RSS/JSON/ActivityPub). This guide gives a repeatable migration blueprint, concrete API patterns, retention policy templates, and operational playbooks.

Top-line lessons from the Workrooms sunset (what you should build first)

• Design export-first: Provide bulk export and streaming export endpoints before announcing shutdowns. See engineering best practices for observability & cost control while you build.
• Document formats: Publish machine-readable schemas (JSON Schema, OpenAPI) for every feed and asset URL — include these in your docs and validators.
• Make assets portable: Use signed, time-limited URLs for downloads and offer an S3-compatible archive option (zero-trust storage patterns help here).
• Be transparent on retention: Publish retention policies and automated deletion timelines upfront.
• Support common feeds: Offer RSS/JSON Feed and ActivityPub/ActivityStreams for broader federation; see feed conversion and syndication patterns.

“When a product ends, your responsibility doesn't — make data migration predictable, auditable, and user-first.”

1. Start with an inventory: map everything you need to move

Before writing a single export endpoint, create a migration inventory. This reduces scope creep and makes your communications accurate. For local-first backup and sync patterns, consult field reviews of local-first sync appliances.

1. Content types: posts, spatial scenes, avatars, recordings, voice clips, annotations, comments.
2. Assets: textures, 3D models (GLTF/GLB), audio (Opus/MP3), video (WebM/MP4), thumbnails.
3. Feeds and subscriptions: realtime websockets, webhook subscriptions, RSS/JSON feeds, ActivityPub actors.
4. Metadata: timestamps, author IDs, visibility flags, content provenance (C2PA fingerprints), moderation flags.
5. Social connections: friend lists, room memberships, group memberships, follow relationships.
6. Derived data: search indices, aggregation stats, analytics logs (retention may limit access).

2. Communication plan: transparency buys time and compliance

Announce the shutdown with a clear timeline and migration tooling schedule. Include:

• Key dates: export window open, last write date, final read-only date, deletion date.
• Available tooling: web UI export, bulk API, streaming feed export, S3-compatible archive.
• Data retention policy: what’s kept, for how long, and user options for extended export.
• Help channels: migration API docs, SDKs, CLI tools, and a dedicated support queue for blocked migrations.

3. Export APIs — patterns that scale

Offer two export models that together cover most customer scenarios: bulk exports for snapshot archives and streaming exports for ongoing syncs and feeds.

Bulk export (snapshot)

Best for one-off user downloads and archival. Implementations should return a signed archive (tar/zip) or point to S3-compatible object storage.

POST /v1/users/{userId}/exports
Request body: { "types": ["posts","assets","friends"], "format":"s3-archive" }
Response: 202 Accepted
{ "exportId":"exp_123", "status":"pending" }

GET /v1/exports/exp_123
{ "status":"ready", "url":"https://s3.example.com/exports/exp_123.tar.gz?X-Amz-..." }

Best practices:

• Make export jobs idempotent and resumable.
• Include a manifest.json listing all files and a checksum file (SHA256) for integrity.
• Ensure archives include provenance metadata (signed manifests, C2PA attributes where possible).

Streaming export (feeds & webhooks)

Use streaming exports for apps that need to keep a copy continuously (e.g., migrate live feed consumers or mirror rooms into a new platform). For syndicated feeds and multi-channel conversion patterns see resources on syndicated feeds.

GET /v1/users/{userId}/stream?format=jsonfeed
Authorization: Bearer MIGRATE_TOKEN

# or
POST /v1/users/{userId}/webhook
{ "callbackUrl": "https://consumer.example.com/hook", "events": ["post.created","asset.uploaded"] }

Best practices:

• Support backfill query params: start_time, end_time, cursor.
• Support webhooks with retry, idempotency keys, and DLQ (dead-letter queues) for failed deliveries.
• Offer ActivityPub or ActivityStreams JSON for federation-friendly migration.

4. Authentication & scoped export tokens

Don't reuse user session tokens for migrations. Create purpose-built, short-lived, scoped export tokens. For identity and token design patterns see identity strategy playbooks.

• OAuth 2.0: use a grant type like device code or client credentials for service-to-service exports.
• Scoped tokens: export:read:assets, export:read:metadata, export:friendlist.
• Auditing: log export token issuance, use rate limits, and require re-consent for large exports.

5. Media, assets, and large file transfer

Binary asset migration is often the slowest part. Use these patterns to move terabytes efficiently:

• Presigned multi-part downloads for large objects (AWS S3, S3-compatible), with TTLs aligned to export windows.
• Direct S3 replication for partners: provide a temporary IAM role and S3 bucket path to allow server-side copy.
• Ranged downloads & checksums so clients can resume.

Example: grant-based S3 replication

POST /v1/exports/replication
{ "destS3Bucket":"partner-archive", "roleArn":"arn:aws:iam::123:role/replicate" }
Response: { "taskId":"rep_42", "status":"started" }

6. Feeds: convert, validate, and provide multiple formats

Feeds are how other apps ingest your content. Provide at least three formats:

• JSON Feed (developer-friendly for modern apps)
• RSS/Atom (legacy consumers)
• ActivityStreams / ActivityPub (federation-ready)

Provide a canonical feed URL and conversion endpoints. Example conversion endpoint:

GET /v1/users/{userId}/feed?format=activitypub&since=2025-12-01T00:00:00Z

# Response: chunked stream of ActivityStreams objects

Validation and schema:

• Publish JSON Schema for each feed type.
• Use testing tools (jsonschema, feedparser) and provide sample payloads in the docs.
• Offer a feed validator endpoint so partners can preflight integration before the shutdown date.

7. Retention policy — transparent and fixable

Publish a clear retention policy and an opt-in extension path. Users and partners must know when data will be deleted. Transparency builds user trust and reduces disputes.

Example retention timeline (template):

• Export window: 90 days from announcement — users can download or trigger exports.
• Read-only phase: final 30 days — no new writes, reads only via APIs.
• Retention hold: 180 days for legal/appeals — only for accounts in dispute.
• Deletion complete: after 270 days — irreversible removal of user content and primary keys.

Key policy features to implement:

• Automated deletion workflows with audit trails.
• User-facing data retention dashboard with export status and deadlines.
• Legal exceptions and appeals process documented with SLAs.

8. Data mapping and transformation — make parity your goal, not perfect feature parity

Target parity for essential fields (content, author, timestamps, visibility). For platform-specific features (spatial anchors, engine-specific shaders), provide:

• Fallback formats (e.g., export GLTF with material fallbacks and a metadata.json describing missing engine-specific features).
• Conversion scripts and a small toolbelt (CLI) to transform proprietary formats to open formats; field reviews of local-first sync appliances include helpful conversion notes.
• Migration best-effort flags: what was converted fully, partially, or not at all.

Sample mapping table

Provide a concise mapping in the docs. Example:

• workroom.scene.anchor -> scene.anchor.id (string)
• workroom.asset.gltf -> assets/{id}.glb + metadata.json (materials:fallback)
• workroom.comment.audio -> comments/{id}/audio.opus (signed URL)

9. Validation & QA: automated and human-in-the-loop checks

Build these validation steps into the export pipeline:

• Schema validation for JSON payloads.
• Checksum verification for archives and media assets.
• Smoke tests: restore a percentage of archives into a staging environment to validate restorability.
• Manual spot audits for high-value users and partner exports.

10. Legal, privacy, and consent considerations (2026 expectations)

Regulatory scrutiny continues to rise in 2026. Expect more granular user data requests, provenance requirements, and cross-border constraints. For regulated-data playbooks and data-residency guidance see hybrid oracle strategies for regulated markets.

• GDPR/DP laws: honor data subject requests and document exported data used to satisfy requests.
• Provenance: include C2PA or signed manifest attributes to support authenticity claims.
• Cross-border: provide region-specific export endpoints to respect data residency rules; consult hybrid oracle strategies for regulated markets patterns.

11. Cutover and final shutdown: tactics to minimize disruption

Make the final phase predictable:

1. Set a hard last-write date — communicate it widely and enforce it programmatically.
2. Switch to read-only well before deletion and give users an export grace period.
3. Monitor export success rates and escalate support for stuck exports.
4. Publish a final manifest of exported data and deletion receipts for compliance.

12. Post-migration: analytics, governance, and partner handoffs

Track these KPIs to evaluate migration success:

• Export completion rate by user cohort.
• Bytes transferred and average export duration.
• Number of failed exports and reasons (auth, size, network).
• Partner ingestion success (validation pass rate).

Governance: retain minimal audit logs for compliance but purge user content per policy. Provide partners with a migration report: which records moved, which were transformed, and which were redacted. For partner onboarding and handoff workflows see marketplace onboarding case studies.

13. Tools, SDKs, and example workflows

Offer SDKs (Node, Python, Rust) and a CLI to simplify migration. Example CLI flow:

# install migrate-cli
migrate export --user alice@example.com --types posts,assets --output s3://my-archive/alice/

# stream a user's feed
migrate stream --user alice@example.com --format activitypub --to https://consumer.example.com/hook

Provide terraform modules for partner S3 buckets and IAM roles to speed up server-side copy flows; store and archive using zero-trust principles.

14. Real-world checklist (operational playbook)

1. Publish migration calendar and APIs (Day 0).
2. Open export window and provide SDKs (Day 7).
3. Start weekly status reports: exports completed, failures, support backlog.
4. Move to read-only (30 days before deletion).
5. Complete deletion, publish receipts, and finalize audit logs.

Why these patterns matter in 2026

By late 2025 and into 2026, two things changed how people expect shutdowns to work:

• Wider adoption of federated standards (ActivityPub, ActivityStreams) made portability a basic expectation for social features; see federation and self-hosted messaging guidance.
• Content provenance requirements (C2PA-style attributes) pushed platforms to include signed manifests as part of exports; zero-trust storage patterns and signed manifests are useful here.

Platforms that follow the export-first model avoid user backlash, reduce regulatory risk, and make partner integrations smoother. Treat a shutdown as a data portability project rather than an engineering deadline and you protect users, mitigate legal risk, and preserve trust. If you need to cut costs and simplify your stack while you run exports, run a one-page stack audit first.

Quick reference: API, retention, and feed templates

Minimum export API surface

• POST /v1/users/{id}/exports — create export job
• GET /v1/exports/{exportId} — status + signed URL
• GET /v1/users/{id}/stream — streaming feed (cursor-based)
• POST /v1/users/{id}/webhook — register webhook for event stream
• GET /v1/users/{id}/feed?format={rss,jsonfeed,activitypub}

Minimal retention notice copy

"We will permanently delete user content on [DATE]. You can export your content via the Export hub or APIs until [FINAL_READ_ONLY_DATE]. For legal retention holds, contact [support]."

Final actionable takeaways

• Build export tooling before announcing the shutdown.
• Provide both bulk and streaming exports and document every feed format.
• Use scoped export tokens, signed manifests, and checksum-verified archives.
• Publish clear retention timelines and an appeals process.
• Offer SDKs and partner onboarding templates to speed migration (see partner onboarding case studies).

When you treat a shutdown as a data portability project rather than an engineering deadline, you protect users, mitigate legal risk, and preserve trust.

Call to action

If you’re planning a shutdown or want a migration readiness review, feeddoc offers a migration audit tailored to VR/AR and feed-rich platforms. We’ll map your inventory, prototype export APIs, and produce a 30/60/90 day operational plan. Book a migration audit to get a customized playbook and sample export SDKs you can deploy in days.

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