The Orkut comeback is the talk of the internet after founder Orkut Büyükkökten opened a petition on orkut.com on 8 October 2026. But there is nothing to download or join yet. The campaign asks for a new social network built around real people and communities, and it is not a relaunch of the 2004 site. No app, feature list or launch date has been announced, so treat any “Orkut is back” headline with caution.
Orkut Comeback – Quick Facts
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Who is behind it | Orkut Büyükkökten, creator of the original Orkut |
| Campaign started | 8 October 2026, through orkut.com and a post on X |
| Latest signature count found | 4,27,688 from 162 countries (13 October 2026) |
| App or website to join | None announced |
| Launch date | Not announced |
| Old profiles, scraps and photos | No sign they will return |
| Information checked on | 3 November 2026 |
What actually happened on 8 October 2026
After a countdown on the long-dormant orkut.com, the site opened an open letter and a petition. Büyükkökten also posted on X, asking people to add their names and share a supporter card with someone they would like to bring along.
The letter argues that social feeds drifted towards chasing attention instead of connection. It also says that bots, deepfakes and AI-generated posts are making it harder to trust that a real person is on the other side of a conversation. The stated aim, as reported by Inside AI, is a network focused on “authentic people, real connection, and genuine belonging”.
Notably, the post offered no product demo, no screenshots of an app and no date.
How many people have signed?
The counter on orkut.com is live, so the number keeps moving. These are the figures reported so far.
| Date | Signatures | Countries | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8–9 October 2026 | About 2.6–2.7 lakh | 115–125 | Inside AI, BestMediaInfo |
| 13 October 2026 | 4,27,688 | 162 | UAE Startup Story |
Early counts differ slightly because each outlet published at a different hour. In the 13 October snapshot, Brazil accounted for 64.0% of signatures, followed by Portugal at 10.1% and Ireland at 2.6%. India, one of Orkut’s two biggest markets in the 2000s, ranked sixth.
No verified count after 13 October was available at the time of writing. Check orkut.com for the current figure.
What signing the petition does, and what it does not
According to the 13 October walk-through by UAE Startup Story, the form asks for your age, name, country and email address. A phone number is optional. After you sign, you get a supporter code and a shareable card with a QR code.
- Signing does not reserve a username, an account or a place in any waiting line.
- It is not a petition to any government, agency or company.
- Supporter codes are reportedly used to count how many people reach the site through shared cards, according to a Newscord report that cites Orkut’s privacy policy.
In short, you are registering interest and nothing more.
Is the old Orkut coming back?
No. Reports describe the project as a new social network, and Newscord says Büyükkökten has said it is not a relaunch of the old network. Google shut the original Orkut on 30 September 2014, after announcing the closure on 30 June 2014 and giving users time to export data through Google Takeout.
Nothing published so far suggests that old scraps, testimonials, community posts or photos will be restored. If you want your old memories, the realistic expectation is that they are gone unless you saved a Takeout archive years ago.
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Who owns the Orkut name now?
Some reports say Büyükkökten recovered the Orkut brand and intellectual property from Google in September 2025 after years of negotiation, and that the new venture is a separate company. One Brazilian outlet refers to the company as Orkut Inc. No primary announcement or filing confirming these details was found, so treat them as reported but not independently verified.
What is documented is the founder’s track record since leaving Google. He launched Hello in 2016 as an interest-based network. Hello was paused in 2022, and the orkut.com domain was reactivated that year with a message that he was building something new.
What went wrong with the original Orkut
The comeback only makes sense if the old mistakes are understood. Based on documented history, three things stand out.
- A confusing redesign. The October 2009 “New Orkut” changed the messaging system so that private messages sent from the old version to users of the new version went unnoticed.
- Facebook caught up where Orkut was strongest. Orkut was arguably the only thriving social network in India between 2005 and 2008, but Facebook went on to overtake it in both India and Brazil.
- Google’s own priorities moved on. When Google announced the shutdown, it said that YouTube, Blogger and Google+ had grown faster than Orkut.
A fourth, older issue is worth knowing. Affinity Engines, the founder’s earlier company, sued him and Google in 2004 over alleged code similarities. The case was settled in 2006.
The hard part: turning signatures into daily users
Analysis: a petition signature costs a few seconds. A daily user costs far more to win and keep.
- The numbers gap is large. Hello reportedly reached roughly 1 to 2 million downloads depending on the source, against about 300 million users at Orkut’s peak.
- The signatures are concentrated. With nearly two-thirds from Brazil, the demand is not spread evenly. India is not yet the centre of this campaign, even though it was once Orkut’s heartland.
- Trust is now harder to build. The founder’s pitch rests on proving that accounts belong to real people. That is difficult and expensive at scale, and no verification method has been officially described.
- The business model is unknown. No funding round, revenue plan or team has been officially announced in the sources checked. Some commentators read the petition as a demand signal for investors. That is an interpretation, not something confirmed by the founder.
Stay safe: expect fake Orkut apps and “account recovery” sites
When a famous brand makes headlines, scammers follow. Because no official app exists, anything claiming to be “the new Orkut app” is not genuine.
- Do not install APK files or apps that claim to be the new Orkut.
- Ignore sites or messages offering to recover your old Orkut account or scraps.
- Never share an OTP, bank detail or password for anything related to Orkut.
- If you sign the petition, consider using an email address you do not use for banking or important accounts.
- Do not pay for early access, usernames or “verified supporter” badges.
What This Means for Users
If you grew up on Orkut, signing is a low-cost way to show interest, but you are giving your name, age, country and email to a campaign with no product yet. Read the privacy policy on orkut.com first.
Do not expect your old profile to return. Do not trust any download link until the founder or orkut.com announces one officially. For now, this is a promise and a petition, and the real test is whether an actual app appears and whether people keep using it.
Follow the mobile news section for updates if an official launch is announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Orkut coming back in 2026?
Not yet. Founder Orkut Büyükkökten has started a petition for a new social network built around real people and communities. No app, launch date or feature list has been announced, and the new project is not described as a relaunch of the old site.
Is there an Orkut app I can download?
No official app has been announced. Any app or APK claiming to be the new Orkut should be treated as fake until the founder or orkut.com announces a real launch.
Will my old Orkut profile, scraps and photos come back?
There is no sign that they will. Google closed the original Orkut in September 2014, and the new project is described as a fresh network. Only data that you exported yourself through Google Takeout at the time would still exist.
Is it safe to sign the Orkut petition?
The form asks for your age, name, country and email address, with phone as optional. Signing does not create an account. Read the privacy policy on orkut.com before submitting, and consider using an email address that is not tied to banking or important accounts.
Who owns the Orkut brand now?
Some reports say the founder recovered the Orkut name and intellectual property from Google in September 2025 and set up a separate company. That has not been confirmed by a primary source that could be found while writing this post.
Why did Google shut down Orkut?
Google announced the closure on 30 June 2014 and shut the service on 30 September 2014. It said that other communities, including YouTube, Blogger and Google+, had grown faster than Orkut.
Final Word on the Orkut Comeback
The Orkut comeback is, for now, a campaign rather than a product. The response has been large and fast, but a petition is not an app, and the founder has not shared a launch date or a plan. Watch orkut.com and the founder’s official X account for real announcements, and stay away from anything that asks for money or personal details in the name of Orkut.
