Trash is Joining VSCO!

Hannah Donovan
TRASH
Published in
3 min readDec 3, 2020

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We’re excited to announce we’ve been acquired by VSCO! We’re going to be bringing the magic of Trash’s AI video editing to VSCO’s global audience of +100M registered users and +2M subscribers.

To focus our energy and work on a shared vision of easy video tools for casual use, Trash will be ending Dec 18, 2020. Download the videos you want to keep by then.

Why VSCO

Most importantly, we both believe in the power of creativity to have a healthy and positive impact on people’s lives. Additionally, we have similar audiences of Gen Z casual creators; and are focused on giving people ways to express themselves and share their version of the world while feeling seen, safe, and supported.

Creativity is a powerful habit in our everyday lives. As Trash creator @lilaclupine once told us:

“Even though sometimes things aren’t okay, you can see [beauty in the world] and feel okay. When I’m making videos, I’m trying to release that emotion. It feels good seeing these videos come together. It’s therapeutic.”

We see so much potential and need in the world for that approach to creativity, and if there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it’s that now is the time to come together and collaborate to make progress.

Since 2019, VSCO has been adding a steady stream of new tools to its membership, particularly video features like a photo/video collage tool montage, enhanced video editing, and most recently — these video and camera effects that we absolutely love (and were on our roadmap too!), so we can’t wait to start adding to this list with our fun and playful approach to AI-driven easy video editing and help expand VSCO’s machine learning capabilities to bring more personalized experiences for VSCO members over time.

Trash’s unique video editing vibe

Our Teams

I was originally introduced to Joel (VSCO Co-founder & CEO) through Alex Heath (reporter at The Information). When I think back to the first time Joel and I talked on the phone, I remember joking to my leadership team it was like part of that Drake lyric “she the female version of me”. It’s so rare to meet someone who shares your perspective on creativity. To hear them using the same words and sentences that you use to describe your vision, to feel that creative spark of alignment for what the future needs… it’s impossible to ignore. In fact, you’d be doing yourself a disservice as both a creative and business person.

To say there was a lot of serendipity leading up to today is an understatement. We can’t wait to get started on this next chapter as part of VSCO, to make creativity more accessible to all with our unique approach to blending art and science to help forge the future.

What’s Next

Get your last trash vids in before the end of the year! We’ll be shutting down the Trash App on Dec 18 to focus our energy on bringing tools like these into the VSCO app in 2021. Trash automatically downloads all your videos to your phone but make sure you’ve saved the ones you want to keep before then.

We’ll see you on the other side! Come join team Trash at VSCO!

Trash founder & CEO Hannah Donovan & co-founder & CSTO Geneviève Patterson

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Hannah Donovan
TRASH

Founder & CEO @thetrashapp. My background is in design and product management.