Wikiwand

Wikiwand is a proprietary software interface developed for viewing Wikipedia articles[1] available for several popular web browsers as a free browser extension or mobile app. It adds a proprietary interface with custom navigation, advertisements, and sponsored articles.[2]

Wikiwand
Type of businessPrivate, Startup company
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersSan Francisco Bay Area
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Lior Grossman, Ilan Lewin
Employees10+
URLwww.wikiwand.com
CommercialYes
Registrationnone
Launched2013
Current statusOnline
Native client(s) oniOS

History

Wikiwand (originally WikiWand) was founded in 2013 by Lior Grossman and Ilan Lewin. Officially launched in August 2014,[3] the interface includes a sidebar menu, navigation bar, personalized links to other languages, new typography, and access to previews of linked articles.[4] The list of contents is constantly displayed on the left-hand side.[5] The interface also includes display ads and sponsored articles.

In July 2020, a sample Wikiwand webpage had six display ads and 36 sponsored articles. Five display ads are in the main content section of the article, one is in the left-hand side navigation bar, and the sponsored articles are below the article content.[2] Wikiwand shares the users' personal information with Outbrain and other advertisers, as well as various service providers including Amazon, Google and Microsoft.[6] In 2021, visiting a Wikiwand page made the visitor's device exchange hundreds of requests and several megabytes of data with advertisers.[7]

According to Grossman, "It didn't make sense to us that the fifth most popular website in the world, used by half a billion people, has an interface that hasn't been updated in over a decade. We found the Wikipedia interface cluttered, hard to read, hard to navigate, and lacking in terms of usability."[8]

The interface is available on Chrome, Safari and Firefox as well as via Wikiwand's website. In March 2015, Wikiwand released an iOS app for iPhone and iPad.[9] In February 2020, an Android app was under development.[10]

In 2014, Wikiwand was able to raise $600,000 to support the development of the interface.[8]

References
  1. Jillian Wong (21 August 2014). "'WikiWand' Gives Wikipedia Clean New Layout For A Better Reading Experience". Taxi. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. "Dieges & Clust". Wikiwand. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. "WikiWand". Twitter. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  4. Martin Brinkmann (14 August 2014). "WikiWand is a modernized Wikipedia frontend". ghacks.net. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  5. "WikiWand makes Wikipedia beautiful". TNW. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. "Privacy policy".
  7. "Wikiwand, oder wie sehen 600K Venturekapital nach acht Jahren aus?" (in German). 2021-04-08.
  8. "Web App WikiWand Raises $600,000 to Give Wikipedia a New Interface". TechCrunch. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  9. Zach Epstein (18 March 2015). "New free iPhone app transforms Wikipedia into a stunning interactive experience". Yahoo. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. "Wikiwand for Android". Wikiwand. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
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