Syme, a social network that promised Ello-like privacy, has gone dark

Syme may be eventually revived in some form, as the open-source code to the platform was released on Github. "We hope the project does live on," Mullie said in his email.

Syme had Facebook-like elements, allowing people to post status updates, photos and files, but all content was encrypted in the browser before it left a computer. Mobile apps for iOS and AndroidAndroid were planned but apparently never released. Alles zu Android auf CIO.de

Its downfall is a shame, in part because enabling end-to-end encryption for consumers is a tough challenge, and one the company hoped to achieve.

"The overarching goal of Syme is to make encryption accessible and easy to use for people who aren't geeks or aren't hackers or who aren't cryptography experts," said co-founder Jonathan Hershon late last year.

Meanwhile new social networks are still springing up. Ello, the flavor of the week right now in alternative social media, promises greater privacy than Facebook, but doesn't have Syme's full encryption.