thearchivist.funStumbleUpon hands its users to Mix
TechCrunch reported on 24 May 2018 that StumbleUpon would shut down on 30 June. The service had launched in 2002 and, according to the report, had about 40 million users and 60 billion 'stumbles' over its life. Co-founder Garrett Camp announced that existing accounts would be moved to Mix, his newer product, before the deadline. StumbleUpon had worked as a discovery engine: press a button and arrive at a page someone else had found interesting. The report did not say what would happen to users' saved content, only that accounts would move. A discovery tool of this kind leaves behind a particular record. It does not hold the pages themselves, only a long list of what people chose to recommend, and a list of recommendations is only useful while the pages it points to remain.
Context and provenance
The 40 million and 60 billion figures are from a news report of the company's claims, not an audit. Treat them as stated numbers.
StumbleUpon's value to a researcher is the list of recommendations, not the pages. To use one, test every link and keep a record of which still work. The source says accounts moved to Mix but does not say what happened to saved content, so avoid claims about what survived. The 40 million users and 60 billion stumbles are the company's own claims as reported, and should be quoted with that attribution, not as audited totals of use.
Transmission timeline
- 2002
StumbleUpon launches.
- 2018-05-24
The shutdown and move to Mix are reported.
- 2018-06-30
Announced shutdown date.
Why it matters
StumbleUpon's end shows that a discovery service's history is a list of pointers, which decay unless the pages themselves are also kept.
What remains uncertain
User counts are company claims in a news article. The fate of saved content is not covered.
Sources and evidence
- TechCrunch: So long, StumbleUpon
30 June shutdown, 2002 launch, user and stumble counts, account move to Mix.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.