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Severity
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ACUTEremissionpeak 68ranked #12 of 42people’s rank #11 · preview
Case 012 · Social · Admitted 2013
The Enshittification of Tumblr
The Enshittification of TumblrTumblr was acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 billion in 2013, passed to Verizon through the Yahoo acquisition, and was sold to Automattic in 2019 for a reportedly nominal sum after years of decline. The platform turned on ads across all blogs by default in 2016 and banned adult content in December 2018, after which web traffic fell by roughly 30% within three months. Under Automattic, Tumblr launched and later shuttered the Post+ creator subscription, sold satirical paid checkmarks, reassigned most of its staff to other divisions in late 2023, and was reported in 2024 to be preparing to license user content to OpenAI and Midjourney for AI training.
First symptom
May 2013
Symptoms on file
9
Categories
5
Prognosis
Acute
1 privacy · 4 quality · 2 pricing · 1 ads · 1 features
Alternatives
Dreamwidthfreemium
Ad-free journaling and fandom community funded by paid accounts instead of advertising or data licensing.
Mastodonnonprofit
Decentralized, open-source social network run by a nonprofit, with no ads and no algorithmic feed.
The Paper Trail
| Date | Category | Symptom · rating · source |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-05 | quality | Yahoo acquires Tumblr for $1.1 billionYahoo announced it would buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion, promising 'not to screw it up' and to operate the service independently with David Karp remaining CEO. The deal began a decade of ownership churn through Yahoo, Verizon, and Automattic.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2016-07 | ads | Ads turned on across all blogs by defaultTumblr announced ads would run on users' blogs by default across web and mobile, monetizing its network of more than 300 million blogs unless users manually disabled on-blog advertising in settings. A revenue-sharing program was promised but not yet available at launch.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2018-12 | quality | All adult content bannedTumblr announced a permanent ban on adult content effective December 17, 2018, weeks after its app was removed from Apple's App Store over child sexual abuse material in its filters. The ban eliminated long-standing communities and prompted mass user protests and departures.↳ The Verge |
| 2019-08 | quality | Verizon sells Tumblr to Automattic for a nominal sumVerizon sold Tumblr to WordPress.com parent Automattic for an undisclosed amount reported to be a small fraction of the $1.1 billion Yahoo paid in 2013. The sale followed a roughly 30% traffic decline in the months after the adult content ban.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2021-07 | pricing | Post+ paid subscriptions spark community backlashTumblr began beta testing Post+, a feature letting bloggers paywall posts for subscribers, prompting immediate backlash including a user strike and concerns that monetized fanworks could invite legal action. Some beta testers reported harassment over participating.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2022-11 | pricing | Paid 'Important Blue Internet Checkmarks' go on saleTumblr began selling 'Important Blue Internet Checkmarks' for $7.99, granting two checkmarks per blog and warning they 'may turn into a bunch of crabs at any time.' The product parodied Twitter's paid verification while adding a paid cosmetic item to the platform.↳ Tubefilter |
| 2023-11 | quality | Most Tumblr staff reassigned, leaving a skeleton crewA leaked memo revealed Automattic would move the majority of Tumblr's 139 product and marketing employees to other divisions by the end of 2023 after failing to turn the site around financially. Only support and trust-and-safety functions remained dedicated to Tumblr.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2023-11 | features | Post+ subscription product shut downTumblr discontinued Post+, its creator subscription offering, citing low usage roughly two years after its contentious launch. Existing subscriptions were wound down as the feature was removed.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2024-02 | privacy | User data prepared for sale to OpenAI and Midjourney404 Media reported that Automattic was preparing deals to license Tumblr and WordPress.com user content to OpenAI and Midjourney for AI training, with internal documents showing a data compilation that mistakenly included private, deleted, and explicit posts. Automattic said it would offer users an opt-out setting.↳ 404 Media |
The Wall
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<a href="https://enshittification.xyz/tumblr"><img src="https://enshittification.xyz/badge/tumblr.svg" alt="Tumblr on the Enshittification Index"></a>The Enshittification Index · 42 case files · no source, no entry · updated Jun 2026
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