Scroll (web service)

Scroll enables users to browse websites partnered with Scroll without the display of online advertisements in exchange for paying a subscription fee. Scroll does not work as an ad blocker, which disables advertisements without compensation to the publisher;[3] instead, it sets a browser cookie indicating that the user is a Scroll subscriber, and Scroll software incorporated into the website detects the cookie and serves an ad-free version of the site.[4][5] In exchange for disabling advertisements, partner websites receive a portion of the subscription fee. As of January 2020, Scroll keeps 30% of the subscription fee and the rest is distributed among publisher sites.[6] Payments to sites are made individually by user based on their own “engagement and loyalty”, rather than by disbursing money from a single pool of all subscription revenue.[7] Scroll does not give subscribers access to partner sites that have a paywall, it only removes ads from the site if the user also pays the publication's subscription fee.[8]

Scroll was founded in 2016 by former Chartbeat Chief Executive Tony Haile.[8] Scroll raised US$3 million in its first round of funding in 2016, including investments from The New York Times, Uncork Capital, and Axel Springer SE.[4] By October 2018, Scroll had raised US$10 million in funding.[4] In 2018, Scroll signed its first partner websites, which included The Atlantic, Fusion Media Group, Business Insider, Slate, MSNBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Talking Points Memo.[9][8] In February 2019, Scroll acquired social media curation app Nuzzel.[10][11] Scroll entered beta testing in 2019, and launched to the general public on January 28, 2020.[6]

In March 2020, Mozilla began offering Scroll as part of its "Firefox Better Web" service bundle.[10][12]