MKBHD shuts down Panels, its wallpaper app, and will open its source code

For a time, the Exclusive wallpapers by Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) They ceased to be something reserved for their YouTube channel and became their own application: Panels. This wallpaper app, available on Android and iOS, reached a position among the most downloaded in the Photos categorywith millions of downloads and a strong presence also among users in Europe and Spain who were looking to personalize their mobile phones with high-quality images.

That experiment, however, has an expiration date. Brownlee and his team have confirmed that Panels will cease operations permanently on December 31, 2025From that moment on, the app will disappear from Google Play and the App Store, user data will be deleted, and the project, despite its initial success, will be shut down. It has not managed to maintain itself sustainably in the long term.

Why Panels is closing down despite its initial success

The official announcement details that Panels will cease operations on December 31, 2025The team acknowledges that, after several attempts at internal restructuring, It has not been possible to form a stable working group who shared the same vision for the product. That lack of fit within the team has weighed as heavily as the economic and reputational problems that the application had been dragging along since its launch.

When it premiered in 2024, Panels quickly rose to the top of the charts. Number one in the Photos category on Google Play and the App Storeachieving over two million wallpaper downloads in its first few months. In Spain and other European countries, many Android and iPhone users They decided to try it, drawn by the buzz surrounding MKBHD. and for the promise of exclusive, professional-quality funds.

However, the project became embroiled in criticisms of its business modelThe price of the annual subscription, close to 50 dollars, was perceived as excesivoespecially when compared to other wallpaper apps available in European app stores with free or much cheaper options. This was compounded by Complaints about intrusive ads in the free version and regarding the clarity of some permissions related to user data.

Faced with this scenario, the team tried to react with changes: they introduced More affordable plans, adjustments to the free experience, and improved communicationBut the reputational damage had already been done; for part of the tech community, Panels became the example of how a product backed by a personal brand as big as MKBHD can encounter significant rejection if the fit with the market is not right.

At the beginning of the following year, the internal situation became even more complicated. The possibility of bringing in new collaborators and technical profiles was explored. Reorient the development of PanelsBut, according to Brownlee himself, the right combination was never found. Maintaining the app "out of inertia" did not seem like a responsible option neither for the team nor for the users, and the final decision was to close in an orderly manner.

What will happen to users and their downloaded wallpapers?

One of the main concerns of Panels users, both in Spain and the rest of Europe, is what happens to everything they've already purchased or downloaded. The team has been clear: Downloaded or purchased wallpapers will remain yours.In other words, everything you have saved on your mobile phone or in your local library will remain on your devices unchanged.

However, the room for maneuver is limited. Since the closure announcement... New packs or wallpaper collections cannot be purchased within the app. Until December 31, 2025, you will be able to continue downloading the funds associated with your account, but once that date is reached, the application will stop working, it will be removed from the stores and remote access to the content will be completely cut off.

The message for users is clear: It is advisable to download it as soon as possible. Everything you want to keep locally. After the closure, there will be no option to restore purchases from Panels' servers or access collections linked to your account. Personal data stored on the platform, such as profile information or purchase history, will be deleted. permanently deleted as part of the shutdown process.

For those concerned about the handling of their information, the team emphasizes that the The data purge will be done securely.Once the closure is complete, there will no longer be any records of active accounts in the Panels systems, something especially relevant in a European context where data protection (under the GDPR) is a priority for users and regulators.

In practice, those who used Panels as their primary backgrounds app will have to look for alternatives on Google Play or the App Store. The European market offers a good number of options, from free apps with ads to subscription services with more content. What made Panels unique was its combination of "author's" backgrounds, linked to the aesthetic of MKBHD videos, with collaborations from digital artists.

Refunds and compensation: how subscription money will be handled

The other major issue is money. Many users had paid an annual fee, so the closure necessitated clarifying what would happen to those funds. According to the official statement, All active subscriptions will be cancelled when the app is removed from the stores., and the team will begin proactively returning the money after December 31, 2025.

The refund system will be prorated, in other words, The amount corresponding to the unused subscription period will be calculated. From the date of closure. Thus, a user who subscribed to Panels for a full year but has only used it for a few months will receive the amount equivalent to the remaining time. This process It will be done automatically, without the user having to send forms or emails.

However, an additional option is offered: request an early refund manually For those who prefer not to wait for the final closure. This alternative is especially useful for users who have already stopped using the app on a daily basis, or who wish to close their accounts on digital services as soon as possible for privacy or spending control reasons.

In the case of Europe, refunds are expected to follow the usual channels of the distribution platforms (Google Play and App Store), so that The money will arrive through the same payment method used for the subscription.This approach facilitates compliance with regulations consumer protection, which in Spain and the EU are especially strict with digital subscription services.

An important point that Panels wanted to emphasize is that, although the money for the unused portion will be refunded, Wallpapers purchased or downloaded to date will remain usable.Personal licenses already granted are not rescinded, so the visual content is not "deleted" from devices nor revoked after a refund.

An open legacy: Panels will become open source

One of the most striking aspects of the shutdown plan is that Panels will not disappear without a trace. On the contrary: the team has confirmed that, once the shutdown is complete, The app's source code will be released under the Apache 2.0 license., one of the most widely used free software licenses for commercial and open projects.

Thanks to that decision, any developer—whether an independent programmer in Spain, a small European studio, or an international team—will be able to analyze, modify and reuse the Panels database to create their own solutions. This opens the door for new wallpaper applications to emerge, based on the same technical architecture, but with different business models or approaches more tailored to specific markets.

In practice, the Panels code could be used by other projects to experiment with platforms that connect digital artists and end usersWhether through more modest subscriptions, micropayment systems, direct donations, or even completely free models funded in other ways, the European developer community, accustomed to working with open-source projects, is seeking the technical support of an app that once topped the app stores. This presents an interesting opportunity.

This openness of the code also fits with MKBHD's discourse, which has often defended the importance of technology serving as a tool for to promote new ideas and facilitate experimentationAlthough Panels has not found its niche as a sustainable commercial product, its internal structure can become the basis for future apps better adapted to user expectations.

It remains to be seen whether, in time, a "spiritual successor" to Panels will emerge from Europe or Spain, taking Brownlee's work as a reference but combining it with a a pricing model that is more affordable and aligned with local digital culture.

The story of Panels reveals how even a creator as established as MKBHD can encounter the same obstacles as any startup: Product-market fit difficulties, tensions in the revenue model, and problems consolidating an aligned teamFor European founders and tech teams, the case serves as a reminder that visibility does not guarantee the success of a product, and that managing expectations, actively listening to the user, and the ability to rectify in time are just as key as technical quality.