[Digital Today reporter Jae-won Choi] Apple is closing the Apple Support Community, an online technical support forum it has operated for 28 years. The official channel where users of Apple products such as iPhone and Mac shared ways to solve problems will disappear into history.

On Nov. 11 (local time), IT media outlet Ars Technica reported that Apple posted a notice to the community on Nov. 10 and announced plans to end the service. New questions and answers were immediately suspended, and it has now switched to read-only access where only existing posts can be viewed. The official closure is on Nov. 20.

Apple plans to continue providing product guidance and technical support through its official support website. It also expressed gratitude to community members who shared their time and expertise over a long period to help other users.

Apple Support Community launched in 1998 under the name Apple Tech Exchange. It was a place where users directly asked and answered questions about how to use products and how to fix errors, with Apple employees participating intermittently. However, because the information was provided by users, its accuracy and usefulness varied.

The service name and operating method also changed several times. It was renamed Apple Discussions in 2000, and in 2011 it was reorganised as Apple Support Communities with the introduction of product-specific boards and an answer-tracking function. It has used the current name since 2022.

Apple explained that the decision to end the service followed a close review of its customer support strategy and user demand. It did not disclose specific figures on a decline in users or additional reasons for the closure.

Users will be able to use Apple's official support site or exchange information in external communities such as Reddit and MacRumors.

It is unclear whether the questions and answers accumulated over 28 years will be preserved after the closure. Apple did not say whether existing posts will remain accessible or whether it plans to provide a separate archive. Concerns have also been raised that access to related information could decline when the service ends, given that product-by-product troubleshooting cases have built up over a long period.