The former file-sharing goliath will close its doors at the end of next month.

The decision comes after a long period of decline for RapidShare, which sacked three-quarters of its staff in 2013.The Swiss-based website was launched in 2002, rising alongside fellow file-sharing platforms such as Kazaa and Limewire. At one point, RapidShare was one of the most popular file-sharing sites on the internet.

The company adopted strict anti-piracy measures in 2013 after it was criticised for allowing copyright infringement and soon after scrapped its free service. This led to a rapid decline in usage, with an estimated 75 per cent of users abandoning the site.

“It’s clear that Rapidshare lost the majority of its users in recent years, after it implemented a series of anti-piracy measures,” Ernesto van der Sar, editor of piracy news site TorrentFreak, told the BBC. “This visitor exodus has led to a sharp decline in revenues. The announced shutdown suggests that it was no longer viable for Rapidshare to offer its services in the present form.”

An announcement on the website advised users to back up their data, as after March 31, all of its user accounts will be deleted. [via BBC]