“Ello exists for the benefit of the creative community, and we will never serve ads or sell personal data.”
Ello raised $11 million from venture capital while telling users they were not the product. It was sold to Talenthouse in 2018 without a word to users, the public benefit corporation was dissolved and the manifesto vanished. On July 18, 2023 it went dark with no export tools and no warning. The users weren’t the product. They were the inventory.