| Scroll | |
| Author: | Tony Haile |
| Developer: | Scroll Labs Inc. (Twitter, Inc.) |
| Platform: | Web browser, Mobile app |
| Genre: | Ad-free internet browsing |
| License: | Subscription service |
Scroll was a subscription web service developed by Scroll Labs Inc. that offered ad-free access to websites in exchange for a fee.[1] Scroll was not an ad blocker, but rather partnered directly with internet publishers who voluntarily took down ads on their sites for Scroll users in exchange for a portion of the subscription fee.[2]
In May 2021, Scroll was acquired by Twitter.[3] In October 2021, Scroll sent out an email announcing integration into Twitter Blue "within 30 days".[4]
Scroll enabled users to browse websites that work with Scroll without seeing online advertising and pay a fee for it. Scroll did not work as an ad blocker, which disables advertisements without compensation to the publisher;[5] instead, it sent a browser cookie indicating that the user is a Scroll subscriber, and Scroll software incorporated into the website detected the cookie and served an ad-free version of the site.[6] In exchange for disabling advertisements, partner websites received a portion of the subscription fee. As of January 2020, Scroll kept 30% of the subscription fee and the rest is distributed among publisher sites.[7] Payments to sites were made individually by users based on their own “engagement and loyalty”, rather than by disbursing money from a single pool of all subscription revenue.[8] Scroll did not give subscribers access to partner sites that have a paywall, it only removed ads from the site if the user also paid the publication's subscription fee.
Scroll was founded in 2016 by former Chartbeat Chief Executive Tony Haile. Scroll raised US$3 million in its first round of funding in 2016, including investments from The New York Times, Uncork Capital, and Axel Springer SE.[9] By October 2018, Scroll had raised US$10 million in funding.[9] In 2018, Scroll signed its first partner websites, which included The Atlantic, Fusion Media Group, Business Insider, Slate, MSNBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Talking Points Memo.[10] [11] In February 2019, Scroll acquired the social media curation app Nuzzel.[12] The same month, Mozilla and Scroll announced a partnership to run a "test pilot" together, but did not go into details.[13] Scroll entered beta testing in 2019 and launched to the general public on January 28, 2020.[7]
In March 2020, Mozilla started offering Scroll as part of its "Firefox Better Web" service bundle.[14] [15]
In May 2021, Scroll was acquired by Twitter, with the future of Scroll cited as being uncertain.[16] An email to customers announcing the change said, "Later this year, Scroll will become part of a wider Twitter subscription that will expand on and adapt our services and functionality".