Posterous Shut Down: What Happened and the Best Alternatives
Posterous was one of the easiest blogging tools on the web, best known for blogging by email. Twitter bought it and then shut it down, and all Posterous blogs were deleted on April 30, 2013. This article covers what happened, what Posterous users could do, and which blogging options make sense today.
Quick answer: Posterous shut down on April 30, 2013, after Twitter acquired its team in 2012, and the blogs were deleted. Its co-founders launched Posthaven, a paid service that imported Posterous blogs and still lets you post by email. For a blog you want to keep for the long term, use your own domain name, ideally with self-hosted WordPress.
Table of Contents
What happened to Posterous
Posterous was acquired by Twitter in 2012, and after that Posterous was no longer needed. Twitter had promised to give “ample notice if we make any changes to the service”, and in February 2013 the notice came: the service would close and all blogs would be deleted on April 30, 2013.
That meant trouble for thousands of bloggers who had built their online journals on name.posterous.com. They had to move their blogs to a new URL and lose their PageRank and search engine traffic.
Why my family loved Posterous
My family kept small personal blogs on Posterous after I introduced it to them a few years earlier as one of the easiest blogging tools. It was an excellent way to blog by email: you simply sent an email to a special address and Posterous added it to your blog. It was possibly the simplest way to blog from anywhere.
Before the shutdown, Posterous let users download a backup of their photos, video and documents. Other blogging services were eager to grab these users, with importers to WordPress.com, Squarespace and Tumblr. But what was the guarantee that those free services would not get acquired and go away some day?
Posterous alternatives today
If you liked the Posterous way of blogging, these are the options worth a look in 2026:
- Posthaven was started in 2013 by Posterous co-founders Garry Tan and Brett Gibson to save Posterous sites. It is a paid service and supports posting by web or email.
- WordPress (self-hosted) gives you full control of your content on your own domain and hosting.
- WordPress.com is the hosted version if you don’t want to manage a server; add a custom domain so you can move later.
- Blogger is free and run by Google, and also supports custom domains.
The perils of free blogging platforms
As always, if you are blogging for the long term, building your blog on a free blogging platform is never a good idea. Your own domain name, your own paid web hosting and free WordPress software is the best bet to keep a blog running for years.
Free blogging platforms come and go more often than expected. Remember how JournalSpace blogs went away one fine day, just like that, with no backup! It is too risky to build your online presence somewhere you may have to leave, losing your search traffic and ad revenue. Your blog platform might not last forever, but your domain name can.
We started this blog on Blogger.com, switched to self-hosted WordPress hosting in 2006 and then moved to VPS hosting in 2010. It was the best move for long-term blogging security. You no longer worry that your blog might be deleted due to complaints, get accidentally deleted (like the official Google blog!) or get acquired for millions and simply go away. It costs money to maintain a blog, but it is worth it.
Protect any blog from a shutdown
- Use a custom domain, even on a hosted platform, so you can move without losing your links.
- Export a backup of your posts and images regularly.
- Keep an email list so you can reach readers if you have to move.
FAQ
When did Posterous shut down?
Posterous closed on April 30, 2013, and all Posterous blogs were deleted on that date.
Can I recover an old Posterous blog?
Posterous itself is gone. If you made a backup or moved to Posthaven before the shutdown, your posts survive there. Otherwise you may find copies of public pages in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
Is there a blogging service like Posterous today?
Posthaven, made by Posterous co-founders, is the closest. It is paid and lets you post by email.
What is the safest way to run a blog long term?
Own your domain name and, ideally, your hosting. Self-hosted WordPress on your own domain means no company can delete your blog.
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It’s a shame they disappear platforms as this network. We should be able to live all at once, but it is inevitable that the big eat the small.
I think the risk is lesser with established platforms like wordpress and blogspot which are major players in the scene.Tumblr could get acquired any time.It is always better to go for self hosting in order to maintain page rank and traffic on a long term basis.