Tumblr traffic tanks after users flee following porn ban

By: Tamar L.

Tumblr users have been fleeing the site since it enacted a ban on porn.

The blogging platform’s traffic has dropped by 30 percent since the December ban on all adult content — including anything that “shows real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples” and any photos, footage or illustrations “that [depict] sex acts.”

In December, Tumblr’s global traffic clocked in at 521 million, but it dwindled to a mere 370 million in February, according to The Verge. Unique visitors tumbled to 437 million in January compared to 642 million in July 2018, according to statistics website Statista.

When the ban was announced, users threatened they would leave and said the site had signed its own death warrant, prompting the hashtag #tumblrisdead.

CEO Jeff D’Onofrio said in a statement at the time that people could always flock to other sites if they were after racy content.

“There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content,” he said.