What Happened to Orkut?

2004–2014 Software/Internet • US/BR

ℹ️ Fate: Service discontinued on 2014-09-30 as Google shifted focus to other social products.

Google’s early social network that ruled Brazil and India before shutting down in 2014.

Orkut launched in January 2004 as an invite-only social network built by Google engineer Orkut Büyükkökten. Its design revolved around interest-based communities and quick-hit scraps on user profiles, plus testimonials friends could leave. While it never led in the US, Orkut became *the* social network in Brazil and India, shaping how millions first experienced the social web.

Competition (Facebook, regional networks) and Google’s shifting attention (Buzz, then Google+) left Orkut with few updates in its later years. On June 30, 2014, Google announced Orkut’s end; the site closed on 2014-09-30 with a takeout option for users to export their data. Orkut’s legacy is a mid-2000s snapshot of social networking built around shared interests—not just friend graphs.

Timeline

2004
Orkut launches (invite-only) under Google.
2005
Rapid growth and dominance in Brazil; strong adoption in India.
2010
Google pivots to Buzz and then Google+, updates to Orkut slow.
2014
Google announces Orkut will be discontinued; data export via Google Takeout offered.
2014
Orkut shuts down; public communities preserved as a read-only archive for a period.