The Independent

The founder of a burgeoning social media app has pledged to help users end the “abusive relationship” existing platforms hold their users in, as it announced a new tech deal to aid its growth.

WeAre8, an emerging social media platform which pledges to give people control over their data, has been backed by a US billionaire as part of efforts to shake up the social network market.

American billionaire businessman Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty has announced a new collaboration with the site and will use its blockchain technology with the aim of decentralising social media so that users on the platform are completely in control of their data.

Zoe Kalar, the app’s founder, told the PA news agency that the public had been in an “abusive relationship” with social media platforms for the last 15 years with user data and advertising earnings controlled by the tech firms, but claimed WeAre8 was changing this, particularly through its new link-up with Project Liberty.