"Ask.fm had 150M users and a direct line to a teen suicide epidemic. IAC paid $150M. Never fixed the safety problem."
$5M
RAISED
—
EMPLOYEES
96
MONTHS
marketfitFire Sale
Distressed acquisition below last-round valuation
// Fatal mistake: Anonymous Q&A to known individuals is structurally abusable — linked to 30+ teen suicides
Key Events Timeline
2010-01
FOUNDING
Ask.fm founded in Riga, Latvia by brothers Ilja and Mark Terebin as an anonymous Q&A social platform
2013-06
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Ask.fm reaches 150 million registered users globally, predominantly teenagers, becoming one of the fastest-growing social platforms in the world
2013-08
REGULATORY ACTION
UK government officials call for a boycott of Ask.fm after 14-year-old Hannah Smith's suicide is linked to anonymous cyberbullying on the platform; the site had been cited in over 30 teen suicide cases globally by this point
2014-07
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
IAC/Ask.com acquires Ask.fm for approximately $150 million, pledging major safety overhauls including hiring a dedicated safety team and introducing new anti-bullying policies
2015-06
LAYOFF
Ask.fm undergoes significant staff reductions as user engagement collapses; monthly active users drop sharply as safety-conscious parents and teenagers abandon the platform for safer alternatives like Instagram and Snapchat
2016-09
PIVOT
Ask.fm attempts a rebranding and pivot away from purely anonymous Q&A toward verified profiles and interest-based communities, but fails to reverse user decline or shed its toxic reputation
2018-06
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Fire sale: Ask.fm ceases meaningful operations and is sold off by IAC at a massive loss, effectively ending the platform after years of user decline, advertiser abandonment, and unresolvable brand damage from cyberbullying associations
🔥 Hall of Flame 72%🏆 Hall of Fame 55%
Ask.
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