Type of site | Content-sharing |
---|---|
URL |
www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | 2013 |
Current status | Defunct as of July 31, 2019 |
Rabbit, also known as Rabb.it, was a video streaming website and mobile application. Launched in 2014, and based in California, United States, the service enabled multiple people to remotely browse and watch the same content in real-time. [1]
A host could create a room, invite others to it (or, alternatively, set it to public so the room appeared on the site's homepage for anyone to join), and share content using a virtual computer called a "Rabbitcast," or using the Google Chrome extension "Share on Rabbit." Whatever content the host opened was displayed to the other users in the room [1] along with audio and video. Rabbit offered text and video chat alongside this functionality. [2]
Unlike other popular streaming websites such as YouTube and Netflix, Rabbit did not host the content viewed on it. Instead, Rabbit streamed a virtual computer (Rabbitcast) with a browser, which could then be used to navigate to other websites and content. A Rabbitcast was a Rabbit-hosted, shared Firefox browser that could be viewed and controlled by anyone within the room. [3] [4] The built-in web browser had an ad-blocker pre-installed. [5]
After a beta release in 2013 [6] [7] which offered limited Mac-only functionality, the company redesigned Rabbit as a web app in the summer of 2014. The service took off, adding 400,000 users by the end of the year. [3] With around 3.6 million monthly active users, [8] Rabbit users viewed content using the service for an average of 12.5 hours a month, with the most active users doing so for 28.5 hours a month. [1] The company had 30 employees worldwide as of May 2019. [1]
In July 2019, Rabbit CEO Amanda Richardson announced that the site was soon to cease operations; a round of VC funding had failed in May, and Richardson was forced to lay off staff and begin shutting Rabbit down immediately. [8] Despite announcements that all staff members had been let go, the site remained semi-functional until July 31, 2019 when the servers were shut down. [9]
On July 31, 2019, it was announced that its remaining assets—intellectual property, software stack, and several patents—had been acquired by fellow streaming service Kast. [9]
Type of site | Content-sharing |
---|---|
URL |
www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | 2013 |
Current status | Defunct as of July 31, 2019 |
Rabbit, also known as Rabb.it, was a video streaming website and mobile application. Launched in 2014, and based in California, United States, the service enabled multiple people to remotely browse and watch the same content in real-time. [1]
A host could create a room, invite others to it (or, alternatively, set it to public so the room appeared on the site's homepage for anyone to join), and share content using a virtual computer called a "Rabbitcast," or using the Google Chrome extension "Share on Rabbit." Whatever content the host opened was displayed to the other users in the room [1] along with audio and video. Rabbit offered text and video chat alongside this functionality. [2]
Unlike other popular streaming websites such as YouTube and Netflix, Rabbit did not host the content viewed on it. Instead, Rabbit streamed a virtual computer (Rabbitcast) with a browser, which could then be used to navigate to other websites and content. A Rabbitcast was a Rabbit-hosted, shared Firefox browser that could be viewed and controlled by anyone within the room. [3] [4] The built-in web browser had an ad-blocker pre-installed. [5]
After a beta release in 2013 [6] [7] which offered limited Mac-only functionality, the company redesigned Rabbit as a web app in the summer of 2014. The service took off, adding 400,000 users by the end of the year. [3] With around 3.6 million monthly active users, [8] Rabbit users viewed content using the service for an average of 12.5 hours a month, with the most active users doing so for 28.5 hours a month. [1] The company had 30 employees worldwide as of May 2019. [1]
In July 2019, Rabbit CEO Amanda Richardson announced that the site was soon to cease operations; a round of VC funding had failed in May, and Richardson was forced to lay off staff and begin shutting Rabbit down immediately. [8] Despite announcements that all staff members had been let go, the site remained semi-functional until July 31, 2019 when the servers were shut down. [9]
On July 31, 2019, it was announced that its remaining assets—intellectual property, software stack, and several patents—had been acquired by fellow streaming service Kast. [9]