thearchivist.funOrkut closes and Google promises an archive of public communities
On 30 June 2014 Google announced on its India blog that Orkut would close on 30 September 2014. New accounts could no longer be created from that day. The post described Orkut as Google's first foray into social networking, started as a '20 percent' project and launched about ten years earlier. Google's reason was that YouTube, Blogger and Google+ had grown faster, and it wanted to put its energy there. For members, Google Takeout could export profile data, community posts and photos until September 2016. Google also said it was preserving an archive of all public communities, to be online from 30 September 2014, and that people who did not want their name or posts included could remove Orkut from their Google account. It is a good example of a shutdown that came with a stated plan to keep the public record: the service ended, the individual's data could be exported, and the shared spaces were to stay readable.
Context and provenance
The useful detail is the opt-out. A community archive is built from many people's words, so a closing notice that tells members how to leave the archive recognises that preservation and consent can pull in different directions. Whether the promised archive remains available today was not checked for this record and should be tested before relying on it.
Before citing an Orkut community, check whether its page can be opened today and write down the address and date you checked. If it cannot, say so and rely on Google's announcement for the plan, not for the result. A promise of an archive is evidence of intent, not proof of availability.
Transmission timeline
- 2014-06-30
Google announces the closing and stops new accounts.
- 2014-09-30
Orkut closes; Google says the public-communities archive goes online.
- 2016-09
Takeout export of Orkut data stated to be available until this month.
Why it matters
Orkut's closing paired an export for individuals with a public archive for communities, an arrangement worth comparing with other closings.
What remains uncertain
The post is Google's plan, not a later check. Whether the archive of public communities is still reachable was not verified.
Sources and evidence
- Google India blog: Farewell, Orkut
Closing date, Takeout until September 2016, archive of public communities, opt-out, reasons, '20 percent' project.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.