Update: No need to read the rest of the post, as Matt Mullenweg (CEO of Automattic) has answered a bunch of questions on his Tumblr blog, which basically says they are keeping Tumblr alive & not doing mass firings (as rumored).
Notable points he makes:
- Tumblr is definitely not shutting down & will focus on what is working instead in 2024
- Tumblr will keep the hated live feature alive until January 2024 due to contractual obligations.
- There are no mass layoffs at Tumblr
- Tumblr is still committed to eventually embracing the Fediverse (there is still reasonable doubt this is being currently being worked on)
- Will Tumblr embrace VideoPress‽ (that would be cool!)
- Tumblr aiming for a billion users or blogs‽
- Explanation of the leaked internal post jargon (it was mostly legit—missing some info). Memo was originally posted in October.
- Tumblr currently only has 11.5 million active monthly users. If 10%-20% embraced ad free subscriptions, Tumblr would be super profitable (currently only 27 thousand or 0.2% have embraced this)
- Jetpack features could come to Tumblr
- Art is allowed, but hardcore porn is still banned
The original post will remain below, but it will exist behind a “read more” link for those who are curious. is considered outdated.
According to the rumor circulating on X & Tumblr, Automattic is giving up on Tumblr having a future (note: anyone reading this should receive it with a grain of salt & be very skeptical).
However, with Tumblr shelving ActivityPub support & desperately trying to find ways to be fiscally relevant, there could be a kernel of truth to this “leaked news.”
You win or you learn
We are at the point where after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage above its previous peaks.
It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. (Hat tip.)
It is better to have tried to summit the peak and failed than never to have tried at all. We have learned a ton on the journey, and honed skills we can use to approach other summits.
As we talked about in the past, if it doesn’t work we’ll have a backup plan and set up the business so we don’t need to let anyone go, we’ll just need to reflect and decide where else we should concentrate our energy together. This plan is happening now: the majority of the 139 people in Bumblr [sic] will switch to other divisions. No plans for any switches in Happiness or T&S.
We assume the first choice for everyone working on Tumblr is to continue working on Tumblr, but we’re going to give everyone an opportunity to to have a “top three” ranked list of what other things around Automattic they would be interested in working on. To infuse some Tumblr mojo.
Texted copy of alleged leaked info
A Tumblr user who works in the tech sector (specifically supporting enterprise software) sums up the “leaked info” on a Tumblr post that became way too popular:
tumblr has basically said: this website is not a revenue vehicle, and thus, it may perish naturally. we won’t pull support from it. we won’t force people to move off of projects surrounding it. but we will do the bare minimum moving forward to maintain it’s existence and one day, when no one else wants to take responsibility for the decaying infrastructure and literally endless backlog of defects and code rewrites, the website will sunset.
Anarchywoofwoof on Tumblr
If you are skeptical about this news, then just ignore this whole post, as it will not be relevant towards your life.
However, if this wild information is indeed true, then Tumblr fans need to consider relevant options sooner rather than later—preferably tech solutions that have embraced the Fediverse.
A few examples include exporting your Tumblr blog to WordPress, to Micro Blog, or (if possible) to Friendi.ca (the latter might be more suitable for the tech crowd).
Hopefully, this rumor is not true (note: your’s truly is skeptical), as Tumblr is one of the few “fun” blogging platforms that has indirectly affected many of the social networks we love & use today.
Discovered via: @YTDN_ on X (formally Twitter).