The creator behind Orkut is calling for its return. Orkut Büyükkökten, the social platform’s original founder, has asked people to visit Orkut.com to register their support for a revival centered on friendship, genuine community, and human connection. He also encouraged users to invite others to join in the effort. This renewed push comes more than a decade after the platform was shut down.
Originally launched in 2004 by Büyükkökten while he was at Google, the site became extremely popular in Brazil and India. It ultimately struggled to compete with Facebook’s rapid rise, and Google officially shut Orkut down in September 2014 to free up resources for Google+ and YouTube, among other services.
The Call to Rebuild
In a recent post on X, Büyükkökten made his appeal for Orkut’s return. He also published a letter on Orkut.com in which he expressed concern over how social media has evolved—particularly how algorithms and AI-generated content have shifted attention away from real human engagement. He emphasized his goal: creating a version of the internet grounded in authenticity, human connections, and belonging.
This isn’t the first time he has explored returning to the social networking space. After Orkut’s 2014 shutdown, he launched a platform called Hello, designed around shared interests. Despite gaining over 2 million downloads globally, Hello folded in 2020. Orkut itself once boasted roughly 300 million active users at its height.
Again in 2022, hints emerged of something new when Büyükkökten posted on Orkut.com that he was working on another social network. By 2024, he told Wired that he was building a network leveraging AI and machine learning to foster communities, though that project has yet to launch.
Questions Remain
While Büyükkökten’s outreach clearly signals his intent, it remains unclear whether there is an actual product in the works or if the effort will move past this early outreach phase. He has not confirmed whether a revamped Orkut is already under development. Attempts to get further comment went unanswered.
This revival effort comes against a backdrop of growing discontent with how social platforms rely on algorithms, artificial content, and opaque recommendation engines. Many users report fatigue, longing for more human-centered online spaces.
What this means: if the vision holds up, Orkut’s return could tap into a broader trend toward social media platforms that prioritize community and authenticity over engagement metrics and controversial AI-driven content. The big question is how it will be built, who will fund it, and whether users are ready to come back.
