# AddThis

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"Clearspring" redirects here. For a township with this name, see [Clearspring Township, LaGrange County, Indiana](/source/Clearspring_Township%2C_LaGrange_County%2C_Indiana).

Social bookmarking service

AddThis Type of site Online advertising Owner Oracle Corporation URL www.addthis.com Commercial No (defunct as of May 31, 2023) Launched October 2006[1]

**AddThis** was a free [social bookmarking](/source/Social_bookmarking) service that could be integrated into a website with the use of a [web widget](/source/Web_widget). Once the widget was added, visitors of a website using the service could bookmark or share an item using a variety of services, such as [Facebook](/source/Facebook), [MySpace](/source/MySpace), [Pinterest](/source/Pinterest), and [Twitter](/source/Twitter).[2] AddThis collected users' behavioural data, even if they do not share anything.[3] The site reached 1.9 billion unique visitors monthly and was used by more than 15 million web publishers.[4] The service operated under companies including AddThis, Inc., AddThis, LLC, and Clearspring Technologies, Inc. until the company's acquisition by [Oracle Corporation](/source/Oracle_Corporation) on January 5, 2016.[5] AddThis would continue to run until all services were terminated on May 31, 2023.[6]

## History

AddThis, LLC was founded in 2004 by Hooman Radfar, Austin Fath, and Dominique Vonarburg.[7] By 2007, AddThis had served more than 100 million widgets to websites, with website growth at 100 percent per month and some two million views a day.[8][9]

In 2008, Clearspring Technologies, Inc. acquired AddThis, LLC, with the intent of creating a single content sharing platform for publishers under one brand: AddThis. The combined platform per Comscore was 254 million unique users.[2][10] Clearspring upgraded AddThis with widget-sharing capabilities from LaunchPad, then discontinued the LaunchPad offering, reaching 600 million unique users by the end of 2009.[11]

In 2010, the company launched the Clearspring Audience Platform, a service for brand marketers to deliver interest-based display advertising across the web, which topped 1 billion unique users and was used by over 8 million unique domains.[12] Clearspring acquired [data science](/source/Data_science) company XGraph in 2011.[13] In September, the company hired a new CEO, Ramsey McGrory, formerly of RightMedia and [Yahoo!](/source/Yahoo!), with co-founder Radfar becoming executive chairman.

On May 10, 2012, Clearspring changed its name to AddThis, its most widely used product. The company launched three sharing and analytics tools: Trending Content Box, Follow Tools, and Welcome Bar,[14][15] as well as supporting content sharing for [Pinterest](/source/Pinterest) and [Web Intents](/source/Web_Intents).[16][17][18] In August, the company began offering [social login](/source/Social_login).[19] In September, [CFO](/source/Chief_financial_officer) Richard Harris took over as CEO.[20]

In March 2014, the company was named number one on the Top 30 Syndicated Ad Focus Entities by [comScore](/source/ComScore).[21]

On January 5, 2016, AddThis was purchased by [Oracle Corporation](/source/Oracle_Corporation) for almost $200 million. Before being acquired, AddThis had raised roughly $73 million to date.[5]

On April 1, 2023, Oracle announced that it would terminate AddThis services as of May 31st of that year.[22]

## Like button lawsuit

The company was the subject of a lawsuit by Rembrandt Social Media, which also sued [Facebook](/source/Facebook), for the use of patents that were first implemented in [Surfbook](/source/Surfbook) and belonging to deceased Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer that involve the ["Like" button](/source/Like_button).[23]

## Canvas fingerprint tracking

In July 2014, [ProPublica](/source/ProPublica) exposed AddThis for uniquely identifying and tracking users using a controversial technique called [canvas fingerprinting](/source/Canvas_fingerprinting).[24] With a storage and user identification method that is harder to block than [cookie](/source/HTTP_cookie)-based tracking, AddThis was able to more pervasively identify and track users' online browsing history on websites such as [WhiteHouse.gov](/source/Whitehouse.gov) and [YouPorn.com](/source/YouPorn). YouPorn removed AddThis after the ProPublica article was published, citing that they were "completely unaware that AddThis contained a tracking software that had the potential to jeopardize the privacy of our users."[24]

AddThis allows users to opt-out of their tracking tools via their corporate website; the opt-out process requires the user to provide name, country of residence and physical address.[25]

## See also

- [AddToAny](/source/AddToAny)

- [List of social bookmarking websites](/source/List_of_social_bookmarking_websites)

- [ShareThis](/source/ShareThis)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["AddThis announces public beta"](http://www.addthis.com/blog/2006/09/25/add-me-unveils-addthis-button-announces-public-beta/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180726061909/http://www.addthis.com/blog/2006/09/25/add-me-unveils-addthis-button-announces-public-beta/) from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-07-25.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wired_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wired_2-1) Keane, Meghan (2008-09-30). ["Widget-maker Clearspring Buys AddThis"](https://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/09/widget-maker-cl/). *Wired*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100203210624/http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/09/widget-maker-cl/) from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Simmonds, Will (2 September 2012). ["Who are these tracking companies? Meet AddThis"](https://www.abine.com/blog/2012/addthis/). *Abine - Online Privacy*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220121135317/https://www.abine.com/blog/2012/addthis/) from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-AddThisAbout_4-0)** ["AddThis is the largest social infrastructure and data platform"](http://www.addthis.com/about). *Company About page*. AddThis. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190412034908/https://www.addthis.com/about/) from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-DCInno_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-DCInno_5-1) ["DCInno"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160129130351/http://dcinno.streetwise.co/2016/01/05/oracle-addthis-acquisition-price-is-175m-big-win-for-dc-vc/). DCInno. Archived from [the original](http://dcinno.streetwise.co/2016/01/05/oracle-addthis-acquisition-price-is-175m-big-win-for-dc-vc) on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-01-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Get more likes, shares and follows with smart website tools"](https://www.addthis.com/). *AddThis*. Retrieved 2023-06-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** O'Reilly, Lara. ["Oracle is acquiring web tracking company AddThis for around $200 million"](https://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-to-acquire-addthis-2016-1). *Business Insider*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220303093044/https://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-to-acquire-addthis-2016-1) from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-highbeam_8-0)** ["Article: AddThis.com Reaches 100 Million Widgets Served - Social Bookmarking"](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160103412.html). PRNewsWire. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2010-02-07.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-webpronews_9-0)** Valentine, Mike Banks (11 October 2006). ["Facilitating Social Media Optimization (SMO)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100209063326/http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/2006/10/11/facilitating-social-media-optimization-smo). WebProNews. Archived from [the original](http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/2006/10/11/facilitating-social-media-optimization-smo) on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Darcy, Darlene (2008-09-30). ["Clearspring acquires AddThis - Washington Business Journal"](http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/09/29/daily24.html). Washington.bizjournals.com. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090612233553/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/09/29/daily24.html) from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2010-02-15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Press Release: Web Widgets meet mobile video as Clearspring and Transpera Join Forces"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120107020007/http://www.clearspring.com/about/press/learspring-and-transpera-join-forces#.T6Al9MRYuEw). Clearspring.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.clearspring.com/about/press/learspring-and-transpera-join-forces#.T6Al9MRYuEw) on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2012-05-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Press Release: Clearspring, Largest Sharing Platform on the Web, Launches Audience Platform for Advertisers and Publishers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120105140756/http://www.clearspring.com/about/press/clearspring-launches-audience-platform-for-advertisers-and-publishers#.T6Amq8RYuEw). Clearspring.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.clearspring.com/about/press/clearspring-launches-audience-platform-for-advertisers-and-publishers#.T6Amq8RYuEw) on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2012-05-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Clearspring CEO McGrory on the acquisition of Xgraph"](http://www.adexchanger.com/data-exchanges/clearspring-xgraph-acquisition/). AdExchanger. 4 November 2011. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120415151334/http://www.adexchanger.com/data-exchanges/clearspring-xgraph-acquisition/) from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-05-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Clearspring Rebrands as AddThis, Reaches 1.3B Users"](http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/05/10/clearspring-rebrands-as-addthis/). Siliconangle. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120513134047/http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/05/10/clearspring-rebrands-as-addthis/) from the original on 2012-05-13. Retrieved 2012-05-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Extending the Platform with New Traffic and Engagement Tools"](http://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/05/10/extending-the-platform-with-new-traffic-and-engagement-tools/#.T6vfbp9YuEw). AddThis.com/blog. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220818172903/https://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/05/10/extending-the-platform-with-new-traffic-and-engagement-tools/#.T6vfbp9YuEw) from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2012-05-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-AddThis_Blog_16-0)** ["AddThis Blog: Pinterest Available in the AddThis Services Menu and Some Fun Facts"](http://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/04/27/pinterest-available-in-the-addthis-services-menu-and-some-fun-facts/#.T6KVuZ9YuEx). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120503235334/http://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/04/27/pinterest-available-in-the-addthis-services-menu-and-some-fun-facts/#.T6KVuZ9YuEx) from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-VentureBeat_17-0)** ["Pinterest grew 52% to 17.8M unique visitors in February | VentureBeat"](https://venturebeat.com/2012/03/21/pinterest-uniques/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033742/https://venturebeat.com/2012/03/21/pinterest-uniques/) from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2017-08-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Web_Intents_18-0)** ["AddThis blog: A Step for Open Sharing: AddThis Integrates Web Intents"](http://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/05/01/a-step-for-open-sharing-addthis-integrates-web-intents). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120503235134/http://www.addthis.com/blog/2012/05/01/a-step-for-open-sharing-addthis-integrates-web-intents/) from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Digital content tracking platform AddThis adds social sign-in feature to its suite of plug-ins"](https://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/08/21/addthis-adds-social-sign-in-feature-suite-plug-ins/). The Next Web. August 21, 2012. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120821144641/http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/08/21/addthis-adds-social-sign-in-feature-suite-plug-ins/) from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-WAPO:_Harris_appted_CEO_20-0)** Overly, Steven (September 29, 2013). ["The Download: Data analytics firm AddThis moves its financial officer into the CEO role"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/the-download-data-analytics-firm-addthis-moves-its-financial-officer-into-the-ceo-role/2013/09/27/1e21c1d8-2602-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html). *The Washington Post*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130930122826/http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/the-download-data-analytics-firm-addthis-moves-its-financial-officer-into-the-ceo-role/2013/09/27/1e21c1d8-2602-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html) from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Desktop Web Properties"](http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2014/4/comScore-Media-Metrix-R-Ranks-Top-50-US-Desktop-Web-Properties-for-March-2014). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140906132437/https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2014/4/comScore-Media-Metrix-R-Ranks-Top-50-US-Desktop-Web-Properties-for-March-2014) from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-07-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["Notice of Termination of AddThis Services"](https://www.addthis.com/). *AddThis*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230401000202/https://www.addthis.com/) from the original on 2023-04-01. Retrieved 2023-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BBCLikeButtton_23-0)** ["Facebook sued over 'like' button"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21411622). BBC. February 11, 2013. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130211151523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21411622) from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_24-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_24-1) [Julia Angwin](/source/Julia_Angwin) (2014-07-21). ["Meet the Online Tracking Device That is Virtually Impossible to Block — ProPublica"](https://www.propublica.org/article/meet-the-online-tracking-device-that-is-virtually-impossible-to-block). *ProPublica*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220818172904/https://www.propublica.org/article/meet-the-online-tracking-device-that-is-virtually-impossible-to-block) from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2018-10-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["Oracale Data OptOut"](https://datacloudoptout.oracle.com/). April 15, 2019. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190418013720/https://datacloudoptout.oracle.com/) from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.addthis.com/)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [AddThis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AddThis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AddThis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.