Tumblr sheds Post Plus subscriptions as the platform downsizes

Tumblr is doing away with Post Plus, the feature that lets creators charge users a subscription to access their content. Starting on December 1st, creators will no longer be able to enable Post Plus on their blogs.

The discontinuation of Post Plus comes just weeks after a leaked memo revealed the platform’s plans to downsize after struggling to meet usage and revenue targets. At the time, Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Tumblr’s parent company Automattic, said the company had plans to focus on the “core functionality” of Tumblr going forward.

It appears Post Plus, which launched in 2021, is the first feature on Automattic’s chopping block. In a post on Tumblr, the platform’s staff members say they “originally introduced Post+ to uplift and support the vast swathes of incredible creators.” However, the company says the feature “didn’t land as we’d hoped” and made the decision to discontinue it after considering feedback and usage.

Tumblr says existing Post Plus content will be available through the end of this year, but it will be marked as private starting in January 2024. Creators also won’t be able to create new Post Plus content at this time, and subscribers will no longer be charged.

Now the question is: what’s next? Tumblr says tipping will remain intact, but Mullenweg has said Blaze, the site’s sponsored post feature, “couldn’t support a fraction of the ~1,000 servers it takes to run Tumblr.”