Path’s social network, messaging app to be acquired by South Korean Internet firm

By Jose Alvarez Published May 29, 2015

Path, the mobile-based social network founded by former Facebook manager Dave Morin, has been acquired by the South Korean Internet company, Daum Kakao. Terms of the sale were not revealed, however, Daum Kakao is only buying the Path and Path Talk apps, not the company, Path, Inc.

Whereas most social networks allow users to amass as many followers as they wish, Path, founded in 2010, limits that number to 150. The concept is to build a tight, private group of highly trusted connections in which users could feel more comfortable in sharing their thoughts, photos, locations, etc. While the service had some early success, drawing millions from investors, it failed to catch on in ways Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have. Path Talk is a standalone messaging app Path acquired from TalkTo.

Recommended Videos

But, according to Path, one region where it’s gaining traction is Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia, which has the most Path users, and it’s this growth area that made it attractive to Daum Kakao.

“Path’s strong user base in the fast growing Indonesian market makes it a powerful candidate for growth into a mobile lifestyle platform with rich services that impacts users on a daily basis,” says Alex Kim, head of Daum Kakao Indonesia, in a statement. “We believe there is huge potential for Daum Kakao and Path in the global market, and we are looking forward to bringing out meaningful synergy with other Daum Kakao services and provide greater value to our users.”

As one of the world’s top-ten largest mobile markets, Indonesia’s data revenues are on the rise, according to Redwing, an analysis firm in the country.

“We believe Daum Kakao, with its deep understanding of the Asian market and experience in leading mobile innovation, will be able to provide Path users with additional resources and value,” Morin adds, in the same statement.

As for Path the company, Morin and staff will not be heading to Daum Kakao (“I feel confident that Daum Kakao will take great care of the Path community,” Morin writes). Kong, the selfie animated GIF app, remains part of Path, Inc.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Introduced to tech at a young age, Jose has grown attached to video games in particular. He has covered topics such as…

Computing

How to deactivate your Instagram account (or delete it)

A person holding a phone with the Instagram app open on it.

Oh, social media. Sometimes it’s just too much, folks.

If you’re finding yourself in a position where shutting down your Instagram account for a period of time sounds good, the people at Meta have made it pretty simple to deactivate it. It’s also quite easy to completely delete your Instagram, although we wouldn’t recommend this latter option if you plan on returning to the platform at a later date.

Social Media

Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for

A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Branded Content

Incogni: Recover your privacy and remove personal information from the internet

Incogni remove your personal data from brokers and more

Everything you do while online is tracked digitally. Often connected to your email address or an issued IP, trackers can easily identify financial details, sensitive information like your social security number, demographics, contact details, like a phone number or address, and much more. In many ways, this information is tied to a digital profile and then collated, recorded, and shared via data brokers. There are many ways this information can be scooped up and just as many ways, this information can be shared and connected back to you and your family. The unfortunate reality is that, for most of us, we no longer have any true privacy.

The problem is exacerbated even more if you regularly use social media, share content or images online, or engage in discussions on places like Reddit or community boards. It's also scary to think about because even though we know this information is being collected, we don't necessarily know how much is available, who has it, or even what that digital profile looks like.