What Happened to Thunderclap? The 2018 Shutdown

Thunderclap closed in 2018. It was a crowdspeaking platform: people pledged their social accounts to a campaign, and if enough of them signed up, Thunderclap posted the same message from all of them at once. "In August 2018, Facebook revoked Thunderclap's ability to post onto Facebook, making Thunderclap unsustainable to operate," Wikipedia's article says. Thunderclap then "announced that it would be shutting down in September 2018," by the same account. Today its old address, thunderclap.it, forwards to a shop that's selling followers.

Quick Answer: Thunderclap launched in May 2012 and closed in September 2018, after Facebook stopped outside apps from posting for their users. Its campaigns had run for the White House, the United Nations, Major League Baseball and the BBC. The name now belongs to a different kind of business: on October 24, 2026, thunderclap.it forwarded to thunderclap.com, which sells followers, likes and views.

"Thunderclap social media" gets about 50 Google searches a month, and "crowdspeaking" about 50, by Google's Keyword Planner on October 24, 2026.

Thunderclap's timeline

Date	What happened
May 2012	Thunderclap launches in New York
August 2018	Facebook revokes its posting
September 2018	It shuts down, along with Daycause
July 2019	The .it address is a parked domain
February 2020	The .com is listed for $175,000
August 2023	The .it address sells followers
September 2024	The .it starts forwarding to the .com
October 2026	The .com sells 1,000 followers for $10.99

Wikipedia's article "Thunderclap (website)" and the Internet Archive's captures of thunderclap.it and thunderclap.com, read through our server on October 24, 2026.

What was crowdspeaking?

That's the name Thunderclap gave its model. A campaign set a target number of supporters and a deadline, much like a crowdfunding page. Supporters signed up with their social accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter. If the target was met, every supporter's account posted the campaign's message at the same moment, with a short link on thndr.me or thndr.it. If it wasn't met, nothing went out.

The effect was one message showing up in many feeds at once. Wikipedia lists campaigns run by "the White House , Major League Baseball , People , Levi's , Durex , Toms Shoes , Sony Pictures , the Discovery Channel , Mozilla , BBC , and the United Nations." The platform belonged to De-De, a product studio in New York City.

Why did Thunderclap shut down?

Its whole model needed permission to post for its users, and Facebook took that away. "The closure came after Facebook changed its terms of service, blocking external apps from posting content," Wikipedia says, citing a November 2018 account by Luminous PR. Without Facebook, a campaign could only fire on its other networks, and Thunderclap announced its closure within weeks. Daycause, a rival that used the same "crowdspeaking" language, closed along with it.

Wikipedia's own summary box gives "Closed, July, 2018," but its text and sources put the Facebook change in August and the closure in September. We've gone with the text.

What's at thunderclap.it and thunderclap.com now?

It's a follower shop. The Internet Archive shows how the name got there:

• July 12, 2019: thunderclap.it read "Buy this domain."
• February 20, 2020: thunderclap.com read "THUNDERCLAP.COM IS FOR SALE $175,000.00."
• August 2, 2023: thunderclap.it was a "Social Media Marketing Service" selling Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter growth.
• September 2024 onward: every capture of thunderclap.it shows a redirect.

On October 24, 2026, both versions of thunderclap.it forwarded our server to thunderclap.com. Its homepage sold 1,000 Instagram followers for $10.99, with a "30-day refill guaranteed, no password ever," and claimed "800K+ Orders delivered." None of the pages we've read mention crowdspeaking or the 2012 platform.

Where does HCLOUT fit?

We don't run campaigns that post from many accounts at once, and that isn't possible on Facebook now. We sell followers, likes and views, so read this as a seller's pitch. Our Instagram followers cost $2.88 per 1,000 on our price list of October 23, 2026, with a 30-day refill on that service, and we never ask for your password. Our free tier gives 12 free Instagram likes or 100 free Instagram views on a public post, after a short Cloudflare check.

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Frequently asked questions

What happened to Thunderclap?

It closed in September 2018, after Facebook revoked its ability to post for users in August 2018. Its old address now forwards to thunderclap.com, a follower shop.

When did Thunderclap shut down?

It announced its closure for September 2018. Wikipedia's summary box says July 2018, but its text and sources point to September.

Why did Thunderclap shut down?

Facebook changed its terms in 2018 and blocked outside apps from posting content, which was the one thing Thunderclap's model needed.

Is thunderclap.com the same Thunderclap?

Its pages sell followers, likes and views, and none we've read mention crowdspeaking. The .com was listed for sale in 2020 and sold TikTok growth by September 2024; the .it sold followers by August 2023.

What was crowdspeaking?

A campaign gathered supporters by a deadline. If it hit its target, the same message went out from every supporter's account at once.

Who used Thunderclap?

Wikipedia lists the White House, the United Nations, Major League Baseball, the BBC, Mozilla, Sony Pictures and others.

Sources

• Wikipedia, "Thunderclap (website)," citing Mashable (May 31, 2012), a report of August 21, 2018 and Luminous PR (November 21, 2018), read through our server on October 24, 2026
• The Internet Archive's captures of thunderclap.it (2019 to 2026) and thunderclap.com (2020 to 2024), read October 24, 2026
• Our server's check of thunderclap.it and the thunderclap.com homepage, October 24, 2026
• Hclout's service list and free tier, read October 23 and 24, 2026, and Google Ads Keyword Planner, October 24, 2026