New Delhi: One remark from Myspace’s owners about bringing the once-popular platform back has been enough to set off a wave of excitement online. Some say they can’t wait to see ‘Tom’ again, the former Myspace president who appeared as every new member’s first friend. Others are calling the comeback “nostalgia bait”.
The comeback plans were revealed by Tim and Chris Vanderhook, who acquired Myspace in 2011. Speaking in director Tommy Avallone’s documentary Myspace, the brothers said they intend to relaunch the platform, but did not announce the date or what the new platform will offer.
“We are stewards of the MySpace brand at this point, and we are going to relaunch MySpace,” Tim reportedly said in the documentary.
At its peak in the mid-to-late 2000s, Myspace was one of the world’s biggest social networks and briefly rivalled Facebook. Launched in 2003, it let users customise almost every part of their profiles using HTML and CSS, from layouts and backgrounds to fonts and music. Features such as profile songs and the ‘Top 8’ friends list became synonymous with the platform.
However, Myspace eventually became something of a ghost town as newer social platforms took over, and efforts to reposition it as a music-focused brand failed.
Recalling the company’s previous revival efforts, Tim said: “We really tried to modernise it, but it wasn’t the same Myspace.”
Chris Vanderhook said repeated ownership and management changes before their acquisition had made rebuilding the platform difficult.
“By that time, they had been through four other sets of management and CEOs,” he said. “We were going to be the fifth ones, and I think that there were a lot of the people who were really just done.”
Tim added the brothers remain committed to reviving the platform despite those setbacks.
“We’re just waiting for the right time to do it,” he said. “And if that one doesn’t work, we’ll do it again.”
A hunger for nostalgia
Nostalgia has become a powerful force online, especially as social media feeds clog up with AI slop, ads and promotional content. There is now a new romance around the early internet, from Tumblr to old GeoCities-style websites to Myspace.
That appetite is not limited to people who actually used Myspace. Vogue Adria reported that younger users are also drawn to editable profiles, chronological feeds and smaller, community-led spaces.
“Every profile gave the impression that there was a real person behind it. It did not always look good… Yet that imperfection proved that the profile had not been created by a team of designers intent on holding our attention for as long as possible,” the report said.
The Myspace news quickly set off another round of reminiscence.
“MySpace was my era. Custom profiles, Top 8, that song that auto-played the second you opened someone’s page… nothing hit the same,” wrote X user @Pagan_GMR.
Another user, @barneyxbt, said even the tinkering was part of the appeal. “Millions of kids were accidentally learning how to code at 14 because they wanted a cooler profile than their friends. That was real engagement.”
myspace was the greatest social media platform ever made and nobody gives it enough credit.
you had to learn basic html and css just to make your page not look terrible.
millions of kids were accidentally learning how to code at 14 because they wanted a cooler profile than…
— barney (@barneyxbt) February 19, 2026
“I’m so down for a MySpace comeback, just people and their own creative aesthetic and authentic personality. no trends no influence no ads no brands no celebs .. would be so fire,” wrote @lanna_lbr.
Others posted wistfully about missing Tom.
In an Instagram reel, CNN technology editor Lisa Eadicicco and other journalists swapped memories of Myspace, from painstakingly customised profiles to the songs that played automatically when someone opened your page.
Not everyone is convinced a relaunch can recreate what people actually miss. Some dismissed it as “ultimate nostalgia bait”.
MySpace relaunching is the ultimate nostalgia bait, but unless they integrate a decentralized identity layer, it's pretty much DOA.
— AstraXLabs | astrax.sol (@AstraXLabs) August 1, 2026
“Do you really want MySpace back or do you want the feeling you had when MySpace was popular?” wrote @urban_elegance.
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