Pillowfort
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Pillowfort is a user-funded social media silo that supports blogging, comments, and community discussions with a chronological feed, that is closing on December 4th, 2026. It combines features from Tumblr and LiveJournal, such as reblogs and private posts,[1] while distinguishing itself by allowing LGBT and NSFW posts.[2][3]
Pillowfort was crowdfunded into existence in 2016[4] and has been supported with additional fundraisers in 2019[5] and 2023.[6] The site launched its options for paid premium features in April 2023.[7][8]
Mobile users can install the Progressive Web App, which allows Pillowfort to bypass Apple app store restrictions and fees.[9][10]
The site started out on the .io domain but moved to .social in 2019.[11]
How
How to export
2026-10-19: in the closure announcement, they said an export feature will be coming soon, or you can use an unofficial browser extension:
“We will be releasing a blog export feature soon to allow you to save a text file of all your blog posts. In the meantime, you can also download an archive of your blog using the unofficial Tassel browser extension.”
Closure
On October 19th, 2026, Pillowfort announced they will be closing on 2026-12-04.
- 2026-10-19 : Pillowfort is closing (archived)
I’m terribly sorry to bring this news to you. This is, genuinely, the hardest decision I have ever made in my life, and I have put off doing it for as long as I could. While we did have many people reach out about the non-profit initiative, for which I am grateful, it became apparent that we crucially wouldn’t be able to find someone to take over as the head of Pillowfort and lead the organization. Since things cannot continue the way they have been, and with nobody able to take Pillowfort off my hands, the only option left is to close it.
Resources
- Tassel user script (a Pillowfort extension manager)
- RSS-Bridge: Pillowfort Bridge
- PillowRSS
- Pillowfort Community RSS Generator
Relevant Communities
Pillowfort's community feature is used to create moderated group feeds centered on a given topic. Here are some Pillowfort communities that are relevant to the indie web:
- Indie Web is a community oriented around independent personal websites
- WebDiscussions is a community with a dedicated indie web tag
- Neocities is a community dedicated to Neocities, though in practice it also gets used for personal websites in general
- Retroweb is a community dedicated to the old web of the 1990s and 2000s, including GeoCities and early Yahoo
Blogposts
- 2026-08-02 : One does not simply federate Pillowfort
- 2026-07-11
Coyote: How Pillowfort Built a Comment Culture Worth Emulating - 2025-01-25 : Quick Guide to Pillowfort Communities
- 2024-09-11 : 10 Things I've Learned About Using Pillowfort
- 2023-12-16 : The Pillowfort Experience
- 2023-07-03 : Tips, tricks and observations about how to get the most out of Pillowfort
- 2023-01-08 : What you need to know about Tassel
- 2022-11-06 : Getting Started With Pillowfort
- 2021-04-19 : Social Media Isn’t Going to Save You From Social Media (archived)
- 2019-06-31 : An Abridged History of Pillowfort Alpha & Closed Beta
- 2018-12-31 : the big list of helpful pillowfort links
See Also
References
- ↑ DailyDot: Pillowfort wants to revive the art of blogging
- ↑ DailyDot: What is Pillowfort, and how is it different from Tumblr?
- ↑ Fast Company: After Tumblr’s NSFW ban, these adult communities have come out on top
- ↑ Indiegogo - Pillowfort Beta Launch
- ↑ Kickstarter - Pillowfort
- ↑ End of Year Fundraiser Update
- ↑ Pillowfort Premium Launches April 17, 2023
- ↑ Site Update - 4/17/2023
- ↑ Progressive Web App FAQ & Instructions
- ↑ Reminder: Pillowfort has a mobile app now!
- ↑ April 2019 Domain Move FAQ