A huge chunk of the internet traffic is adult related. So there is no denying that the web is just full of NSFW contents.
When an increasing number of non-adult related online services started restricting those contents, Tumblr, the microblogging site, still allowed users to post NSFW contents.
This makes Tumblr one of the most favorite non-adult related places on the web for such things.
But starting December 2018, the company started eradicating all porn-related communities from the platform, by fundamentally altering how the service is used.
It was a tough decision for Tumblr, and users were unhappy.
Many of those users reacted to Tumblr's move, by explaining that they mainly used the site for browsing NSFW contents.
At the same time, they threatened to leave the platform if the ban enforced. But with Tumblr continuing its pace in eradicating all porn-related contents from its platform, the inevitable happens.
Three months after the said move, in March 2019, Tumblr is facing the nightmare all online companies fear of having.
And that is a huge drop in traffic, plummeting to nearly 30 percent since December.
Tumblr’s global traffic in December was at 521 million. Two months later in February 2019, it dropped to 370 million, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb.
Statista also reported a similar trend, saying that by January 2019, only 437 million visited Tumblr, compared to a high of 642 million visitors in July 2018.
Tumblr is a social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007.
What Tumblr did in December 2018, was removing explicit posts from public view, including any media that portrayed sex acts, exposed genitals, and “female-presenting” nipples.
The ban includes those with explicit sexual content and nudity with a few exceptions.
The updated policy’s announcement came just days after Tumblr was removed from Apple’s iOS App Store over a child pornography incident. But the initiative extends far beyond that matter, as "Adult content will no longer be allowed here," said Tumblr on its blog post at the time.
"Regardless of how old you are."
Tumblr was mainly known for its NSFW content, and without NSFW, Tumblr to those users, is not anymore the Tumblr they know.
When Tumblr first said that it would ban porn, CEO Jeff D’Onofrio said in a statement at the time that users had other options. "There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content," he said.
Tumblr's filtering method is somehow spotty, as it allows some porn to slip through. But still, it looks like users have taken D’Onofrio offer and apparently left the platform, probably for good.