Dutch Social Media Platform Hyves Relaunches After 13 Years
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Dutch Social Media Platform Hyves Relaunches After 13 Years
- Hyves, a Dutch social media platform, has relaunched on September 22, 2026, aiming to offer an alternative to larger social networks with a focus on privacy and user connection.
- Owned by Mediahuis, the revived platform emphasizes a chronological timeline, fewer intrusive ads, and no addictive algorithms, along with the return of nostalgic features like "krabbels" and the dancing banana.
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Hyves, once the dominant social media platform in the Netherlands, officially relaunched on September 22, 2026, after being offline for 13 years. The platform, originally founded in 2004 by Raymond Spanjar and Floris Rost van Tonningen, reached its peak in 2010 with over 10 million accounts, representing a significant portion of the Dutch population at the time.
The relaunch by Mediahuis, the current owner, is driven by a perceived demand for a social media experience that prioritizes personal connections and privacy over addictive algorithms and extensive advertising. Hyves aims to differentiate itself by offering a clear chronological timeline, limiting intrusive ads, and eschewing algorithms designed for endless scrolling. User data will be hosted in Europe and will not be shared with third parties.
Nostalgic elements from the original platform, such as “krabbels” (text messages on profiles) and the popular dancing banana emoji, have been brought back for the new iteration. The initial rollout of the relaunched Hyves will be gradual, with a limit of 10,000 new accounts on the first day, followed by 5,000 daily thereafter, as Mediahuis aims for 1.5 million users by the end of 2026. The original Hyves was acquired by Telegraaf Media Groep in 2010 but was eventually discontinued as a social network in 2013 due to the rising popularity of platforms like Facebook.