Tumblr discontinues Post Plus subscriptions: Here's why
Tumblr is waving goodbye to its Post Plus feature, which lets creators charge users for access to their content, via subscriptions. Starting December 1, creators won't be able to activate Post Plus on their blogs. This move follows a leaked memo that revealed the platform's plans to scale down due to difficulties in achieving usage and revenue goals. Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Tumblr's parent company Automattic, shared that the focus would shift back to Tumblr's "core functionality."
Post Plus didn't meet expectations, says Tumblr
Introduced in 2021, Post Plus aimed to "uplift and support the vast swathes of incredible creators," per Tumblr. Unfortunately, the company says the feature "didn't land as we'd hoped," leading to its discontinuation after taking user feedback and usage patterns into account. Existing Post Plus content will stay accessible until the end of 2023, but will be marked as private from January 2024 onwards. As a result, creators can't make new Post Plus content, and subscribers won't be billed anymore.
What about the other features?
While Tumblr's tipping feature will still be available, the fate of its sponsored post feature, Blaze, hangs in the balance. Mullenweg said Blaze "couldn't support a fraction of the ~1,000 servers it takes to run Tumblr." As the platform refocuses on its core functionality and scales down, it's unclear what other changes might be made or features removed in an attempt to reach usage and revenue targets. Tumblr currently boasts 135 million monthly active users.
