Delicious Has Been Sold to the Co-Founders of YouTube
Word that bookmark sharing site Delicious has been sold by Yahoo and acquired by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, the co-founders of YouTube. Their new company is named AVOS.
- Yahoo will continue to operate Delicious until approx. July 2011.
- Once the transition period ends data will be moved to new Delicious owner (aka their servers)
- Next time you use Delicious you will be asked to login and approve (or not) Yahoo moving your bookmarks
An FAQ about the transition is also available. Here are a few highlights and links the privacy policy and TOS.
Whoa, what’s happening?
Sorry if we’ve caught you by surprise. Delicious has been acquired by the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen and will become part of their new Internet company, AVOS. Here are a few links to catch you up to date on the latest news regarding Delicious (blog post, press release).
What does AVOS plan to do with Delicious?
AVOS plans to continue the service that users have come to know and love and by working with the community, make the site even easier and more fun to save, share and discover the web’s “tastiest” content.
Will AVOS maintain the Delicious service with all of its functionality?
Yes, that’s the plan. There may be a time of adjustment as AVOS re-launches Delicious, but the company’s intention is to add new features and grow the service overall.
Where can I find the AVOS Terms of Service and Privacy Policy?
Right here. AVOS Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
How do I transfer my bookmarks?
To transfer your bookmarks, you need to “opt-in” to allow your account and all associated data to be moved. You can do this from the opt-in page.
What will happen to my public and private bookmarks?
By agreeing to the AVOS terms of service, you will allow us to send your account information, bookmarks, and all the data associated with your Delicious account to AVOS when they re-launch Delicious. Your public and private bookmarks will be maintained as they are today. The information transferred would include:
- Delicious username
- Delicious password
- Email address
- First Name
- Last Name
- Bookmarks, Tags and Notes
- Inbox items
- Tag Bundles
- Tag Descriptions
- Network Members
- Subscriptions
- Blogpost jobs
- Twitter Auth credentials (if supplied)
Is AVOS going to build a Delicious extension that is compatible with Firefox 4.0?
Yes. This is a top priority. AVOS plans to release a new extension as soon as possible. For information on workarounds, please see here. Please visit blog.delicious.com for the latest news on upcoming product releases.
Can I export my data from Delicious?
Yes. Please use our export tool.
Who can I contact for more information?
If you require assistance, our support team can help you.
The complete FAQ is available here.
As we have said, part of our product strategy involves shifting our investment with off-strategy products to put better focus on our core strengths and fund new innovation. We believe this is the right move for the service, our users and our shareholders. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are building an exciting new company and we look forward to watching the Delicious service continue to develop!
Filed under: Data Files, Jobs, News, Patrons and Users, Video Recordings

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.