Posterous
Corporate brand
UnclaimedPosterous was a San Francisco blogging and mobile publishing platform that emphasized easy posting by email and automatic distribution to social networks.
Last updated August 31, 2026
Overview
Posterous was a lightweight blogging and publishing service launched in 2008 and associated with the early wave of mobile-first social media tools. Its central proposition was simplicity: users could create and update a site without managing a conventional content-management system, and they could publish by sending an email containing text, photographs, audio, documents, video, or links. The service converted those messages into posts and could distribute them automatically to destinations including Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook. The platform was based in San Francisco and received early backing from Y Combinator. It appealed to users who wanted a personal blog, a media stream, or a small group site without the setup burden associated with more technical blogging software. Posterous combined a rich-text web editor with custom themes, domain and subdomain mapping, and an integrated Google Analytics package. These features allowed users to retain a relatively simple publishing workflow while presenting a more customized public site. Posterous was particularly identified with mobile blogging and lifestreaming. Email publishing meant that a user could post from a phone or other email-capable device without opening a full browser-based editor. The platform also introduced its own URL-shortening service and supported automated posting to Twitter. In 2009 it released PicPosterous, an iPhone application designed for quick photo publishing, and in 2011 it introduced an Android application supporting a range of phone models. The service gained visibility during the period when blogs, microblogs, photo services, and social networks were increasingly interconnected. Social-media commentators described Posterous as a leading free lifestreaming application, and technology writer Steve Rubel attracted attention when he announced that he was moving his blogging activity entirely to the platform. A notable community project, the3six5, began on Posterous in January 2010 and was later nominated for a Webby Award. Posterous also illustrates the security trade-offs of frictionless publishing. Its email-posting feature initially relied on mechanisms intended to distinguish legitimate messages from forged ones, but researchers demonstrated that return email addresses could be spoofed. After a 2008 report showed that unauthorized messages could be posted to a target blog, Posterous repaired the relevant vulnerability and described using additional email-authentication and header-filtering techniques. The episode highlighted the difficulty of balancing one-step publishing with strong account protection. Twitter acquired much of the Posterous team in 2012, and the service was subsequently discontinued. Posterous announced in February 2013 that its website would close on April 30, giving users an opportunity to back up and export their material. After the shutdown, the URLs displayed a farewell page rather than functioning blogs. The former founders later worked on Posthaven, a paid blogging service intended to continue some of the publishing ideas associated with Posterous. Posterous is therefore remembered less as a lasting consumer platform than as an influential example of simple, mobile-oriented social publishing during the formative years of the social web.
History
Posterous emerged in 2008 as a simplified alternative to more involved blogging systems. The service was based in San Francisco and received funding from Y Combinator. Rather than requiring users to work exclusively through a web dashboard, Posterous made email a primary publishing interface. A message sent to the service could become a blog post, with attached photographs, audio files, documents, video, or links incorporated into the resulting page. This workflow gave Posterous a strong mobile orientation at a time when smartphones were becoming important tools for online publishing but mobile web editors remained cumbersome. The platform also offered a conventional rich-text editor for browser users, custom themes, Google Analytics integration, and the ability to point an existing domain or subdomain at a hosted Posterous site. Its automatic connections to services such as Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook helped position it as both a blog host and a lifestreaming tool. Posterous gained recognition among social-media users and commentators. Steve Rubel's public move to Posterous increased awareness of the service, while the platform's cross-posting and media-handling features made it useful for people who wanted one publishing action to reach multiple online destinations. Posterous added its own URL-shortening functionality and, by 2010, supported posting shortened links to Twitter. The company's mobile product development included PicPosterous, an iPhone application launched in August 2009 for quick photo posts, and an Android application released in January 2011. A separate cultural and storytelling project, the3six5, launched on Posterous in January 2010 and subsequently received Webby Award recognition through a nomination in 2011. The service encountered a security issue related to its email-publishing model. Because email return addresses can be forged, outside observers were able to demonstrate unauthorized posting to another user's blog in 2008. Posterous repaired the specific weakness and stated that it used additional checks, including sender-policy and email-header analysis, to identify messages that did not resemble previously validated sources. The incident exposed a structural tension in the product: reducing publishing friction also reduced the number of explicit confirmations available to users. Posterous's independent operation ended after Twitter acquired much of its team in 2012. The acquisition was accompanied by a decision to discontinue the hosted service rather than maintain it as a separate product. On February 15, 2013, Posterous announced that the service would close on April 30. Users were given time to export their work, and the company's API remained available long enough to support migration to Posthaven, a later paid service associated with the former founders. After closure, Posterous URLs showed a farewell page. The brand is now defunct, but its email-first publishing model remains representative of the early mobile and social-web era.
- 2013
Posterous service closes
[1]The platform shuts down on April 30 after announcing an export period for users.
- 2012
Twitter acquires much of the Posterous team
[1]Posterous agrees to be shut down following Twitter's acquisition of much of its team.
- 2011
Posterous expands to Android
[1]The company releases an Android application supporting nine phone models.
- 2010
The3six5 begins
[1]The3six5 storytelling project launches on Posterous.
- 2009
PicPosterous launches
[1]Posterous releases an iPhone application focused on rapid photo publishing.
- 2008
Posterous launches
[1]Posterous begins operating as a simple blogging platform with email publishing, hosted pages, media attachments, and social-network distribution.
- 2008
Email-posting security weakness is exposed
[1]A report demonstrates that spoofed return addresses could be used to submit unauthorized posts; Posterous addresses the vulnerability.
Products and positioning
A simple, mobile-friendly publishing platform for personal blogs, media streams, and small group websites, differentiated by email posting and automatic social-network distribution.
Blogging and social publishing platform · 2008
Posterous
The core hosted service allowed users to create blogs and media-rich pages through a browser editor or by sending email. It supported photographs, audio, documents, video, links, custom themes, Google Analytics, domain mapping, and automatic distribution to selected social networks. Its emphasis was rapid, low-friction publishing rather than deep content-management customization.
Mobile application · 2009
PicPosterous
PicPosterous was an iPhone application introduced for quickly uploading photographs to a Posterous page. It extended the platform's mobile-first approach by making image publishing possible through a dedicated phone workflow rather than requiring users to rely on the full website.
Mobile application · 2011
Posterous Android application
The Android application brought Posterous publishing to Android devices and was reported to support nine phone models at launch. It complemented the service's email and browser tools by offering another route for mobile users to create and share posts.
Controversies
2008
Email address spoofing vulnerability
Posterous's email-based posting system initially treated the return address as an important signal for deciding where a message should be published. Because return addresses can be forged, outside testers demonstrated unauthorized posts on another user's blog. Posterous fixed the reported weakness and said it used additional sender and header checks, although it did not disclose all implementation details.
Brand decisions
2013
Close the Posterous serviceStrategyBackground
Following the team acquisition by Twitter, Posterous announced that the hosted platform would end.
Action taken
The service was scheduled to shut down on April 30, 2013, with users given time to back up and export their content.
Aftermath
Posterous URLs displayed a farewell page after closure. The former founders subsequently developed Posthaven, a paid service with a related publishing concept.
2012
Accept Twitter acquisition of much of the teamM&ABackground
Twitter announced that it had acquired much of the Posterous team.
Action taken
Posterous agreed to wind down its service rather than continue as an independent platform.
Aftermath
The brand and service were later formally discontinued, while some users were directed toward export and migration options.
Recent events
- 2013
Posterous announces service shutdown[1]
Other
Posterous announced that its service would close on April 30, 2013, and provided users with a period to back up and export their content.
- 2012
Twitter acquires much of the Posterous team[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Posterous agreed to shut down after Twitter announced that it had acquired much of the company's team.
- 2011
Posterous releases an Android application[1]
Product launch
Posterous launched an Android app with support for nine phone models, extending its mobile publishing tools beyond iPhone.
- 2010
The3six5 storytelling project launches on Posterous[1]
Other
The3six5 began as a Posterous-based storytelling project and was later nominated for a Webby Award.
- 2009
Posterous launches PicPosterous for iPhone photo publishing[1]
Product launch
Posterous introduced PicPosterous, an iPhone application intended to make rapid photo posting to a Posterous site easier.
Sources1 sources
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