Glitch hits kill switch on app web hosting, citing 'bad actors' and worse architecture

Fastly acquisition asks that redirects be set up before December 31

Three years after confirming its acquisition by Fastly, Glitch is pulling the plug on its app hosting platform.

Glitch project hosting and user profiles will be shut down on July 8, although user dashboards will remain available until the end of 2025, giving users time to download their code and set up redirects for project URLs.

According to CEO Anil Dash, the company has maintained a community of millions of users, running tens of millions of apps. However, Dash said the effort to keep the lights on had increased while the platform has aged and been abused by "bad actors." Dash also noted that the company's legacy architecture compared poorly with the competition.

Three years ago, when Glitch became part of Fastly, the company described the moment as "an exciting leap forward" and insisted "nothing changes about your apps or your Glitch account."

A "leap forward" into the abyss by the looks of it. The company's admission that its architecture no longer stacks up well against the likes of Netlify and GitHub Pages is fair. While the announcement carries an air inevitability, it will still be a surprise for many users, which Dash acknowledged with an apology:

"I'm sorry for the time and effort that it takes to migrate or back up your apps if you weren't planning on it."

"It's a bittersweet transition, and any time we ask people to make an unexpected change with their apps, it can cause stress or frustration."

You've got to ditch a Pocket or two

Glitch's announcement came on the same day that Mozilla announced it was killing off Pocket. Formerly known as Read It Later, Mozilla acquired the company in 2017. It allowed users to save articles and web pages for later review and to discover content. The shutdown is planned for July 8.

Mozilla is also dropping Fakespot, a tool it acquired in 2023 to help users spot unreliable product reviews.

Mozilla said: "As users' everyday needs evolve alongside with [sic] the web itself, it's imperative we focus our efforts on Firefox."

"We're grateful to the communities that made Pocket and Fakespot meaningful. As we wind them down, we're looking ahead to focusing on new Firefox features that people need most."

The company is giving users months to make the transition, and asked that redirects be set up before December 31. "We'll make sure they stay active at least through the end of 2026," it added.

New Glitch Pro subscriptions are to be turned off immediately, while current subscriptions will be honored until July 8, and refunds will be given for unused time.

"This is a big change," wrote Dash, before insisting it wasn't about "corporate overlords" demanding that the app hosting infrastructure of Glitch be shut down.

"It's a story about recognizing when an ecosystem has changed, and evolving to reflect reality." ®