Bebo is making a comeback as a ‘brand new social network’.
Irish users of a certain age will fondly remember the social network from the mid-2000s.
The app’s popularity - particularly in places like Ireland and the UK - saw it acquired by AOL in 2008 for a whopping $850 million.
However, the service rapidly declined in popularity as the likes of Facebook took over.
Bebo was sold off for a fraction of the price just two years later, with the 2010s seeing a series of failed bids - including by its original founders - to relaunch the site.
It was finally acquired by Amazon’s Twitch service in 2019.
Now, it’s set to return next month - although the website cautions users will not have access to their old photos and data as they were lost 'many years ago'.
Newstalk’s technology correspondent Jess Kelly says it’s a very interesting development.
She said: "Many people over the last number of years have been reconsidering their social media usage; what they share, how much time they spend scrolling and what they believe from what is posted on the different platforms.
“There's obviously a huge nostalgia factor for people of a certain age, who may have spent more time considering their Top 16 than doing homework, but it's worth noting that you old Bebo material will not appear if you sign up for an account.”
While recent months have seen more users leave Facebook and its various apps, Jess notes Bebo it will be another social network owned by a big tech company (Amazon in this case).
She added: “It will be interesting to see how the platform will look and if there will be spin-offs, like Instagram and WhatsApp and so on.”
