Products · Product
Tumblr
Raised as a usability problem by 110 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2008–2024), in 86 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Confusing interface slows the computer to a haltUnreviewed
20082026- Tumblr's user interface is widely considered the absolute worst2019-01-30
- Tumblr's UI is confusing and slows the user's computer to a halt2018-12-03
- Visitors can't tell what Tumblr does; login isn't on the homepage2010-01-19
No built-in comments, so readers must sign up to replyUnreviewed
20082026- Users can't figure out how to comment directly on posts or reply to commenters2013-04-21
- Reblogging as a way to comment feels nonintuitive to new users2010-09-17
- No built-in comments, so readers must sign up for Tumblr to reply via reblog2009-11-22
Site is slow to browse, making content hard to take inUnreviewed
20082026- Default theme is heavy and laggy, so the site slows to a crawl2019-08-12
- Every page is different, user never knows what to click, slow2018-03-02
- Site is very slow to browse and hard to take in content2017-11-27
Blog slides in from the side and disappears, making reading hardUnreviewed
20082026- Clicking another blog's feed opens it in a sidebar instead of navigating there, feels convoluted2022-01-16
- Blog slides in on the side and disappears unexpectedly, making it hard to read2017-06-22
- Fixed overlay follows you and blocks reading the blog, with no way to close it2013-04-25
Pressing back sends users to the same page instead of leaving the siteUnreviewed
20082026- Pressing back sends the user to the same Tumblr page instead of leaving the site2022-09-30
- Tumblr hijacks the return button so the user can't go back on mobile2022-03-16
- An unwanted Tumblr button added to the site is annoying to visitors2013-04-25
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Spinning loader appears on scroll, taking about 20 minutes to reach the bottom2024-09-26
- Popup covers the article and disables scrolling, so the text can't be read2023-11-22
- Homepage doesn't surface random pages or categories, so the commenter can't see existing communities2023-11-09
- User gets lost in the reblog chains and finds it hard to use2023-11-09
- Misclicks refresh the dashboard, losing place and showing own posts again2023-07-12
- Replies are unthreaded and separate post type; must quote tweet every response2023-07-11
- Hard to discover content beyond followed blogs; search has confusing limitations2023-07-10
- Can't find a post again after the feed randomly refreshes, because search doesn't cover post bodies2023-07-10
- Platform is so hard to use, per the commenter2023-07-10
- Oversimplified UI is counter-intuitive for average users and useless for power users2023-07-10
- Added live feature cluttered the UI and paid popups degraded the experience2023-05-20
- Pop-ups like "Open in app" and cookie banners cover the screen while browsing2023-03-13
- Seeing all replies to a post at once is hard2022-11-10
- Pressing back sends the user to the same Tumblr page instead of leaving the site2022-09-30
- After scrolling, posts take seconds to appear, showing only blue background2022-06-20
- Links redirect to blog front page and search/archive features don't work2022-04-03
- Tumblr hijacks the return button so the user can't go back on mobile2022-03-16
- Custom themes omit interface elements, so casual readers get a worse experience2022-01-30
- Clicking another blog's feed opens it in a sidebar instead of navigating there, feels convoluted2022-01-16
- Clicking an image gives inconsistent results: new tab, lightbox, post, or unrelated link2022-01-16
- Posting is rough and cumbersome because of many UI failures2021-09-21
- Adult content is even harder to find and use after UI changes2021-03-01
- 330+ toggles and no reject-all button, so users must click each one2021-02-11
- Public blogs are hidden behind a cookie consent wall2020-05-20
- Back button doesn't work as expected, breaking navigation2020-05-10
- Breaks the browser back button, so leaving the site is awkward2020-05-06
- Small, low-contrast text and moving links make custom Tumblr themes hard to read2019-10-30
- Reporting abusive content requires clicking the share button, a confusing and error-prone design2019-09-25
- Privacy form is impossible to decline2019-09-10
- Back button breaks, so pressing it does not return to the previous page2019-08-15
- Search is comically broken, making it hard to find content2019-08-14
- Full-page flashing and fast animated GIFs trigger seizures and migraines for photosensitive users2019-08-13
- Unclear what clicking post controls will do; couldn't figure anything out2019-08-13
- Old themes load a script from a dead site, so pages hang until timeout2019-08-12
- Default theme is heavy and laggy, so the site slows to a crawl2019-08-12
- Safe mode was forced on and the settings toggle removed, so users couldn't turn it off2019-05-03
- Mobile and desktop sites behave differently, so privacy features and formatting vary2019-03-19
- Privacy 'Manage options' link opens plain text with no actual options to change2019-03-06
- Login is a modal, magic link, and two-stage username-then-password flow that is painful to get through2019-02-16
- Tumblr's user interface is widely considered the absolute worst2019-01-30
- GDPR consent notice on every Tumblr subdomain makes visiting blogs a hassle2018-12-14
- Autoplaying video and slow pop-up ads interrupt reading the article2018-12-08
- Mobile visitors get a nagware screen blocking content, forcing them to skip the site2018-12-05
- Safe mode needs an account and a hidden process to turn off2018-12-03
- Tumblr's UI is confusing and slows the user's computer to a halt2018-12-03
- Infinite scroll can't be disabled on the mobile version, only desktop2018-10-22
- Single posts keep loading more content, so the reader can't reach the end of the page2018-10-22
- Phone crashes after loading too many image and video pages in infinite scroll2018-10-21
- Clunky editor and slow loading for users, with constrained theming2018-08-21
- Nested replies indent so deeply that text wraps to single characters2018-08-20