Twitter is promising wider distribution of “clean content” for readers to jump-start its subscription model. The company is pinning its hopes on Scroll, a tool that “cleans” up article pages, by ridding them of pop-up ads and other “clutter”. Twitter expects to please readers frustrated by ads, while also satisfying publishers, who will be integrated into the revenue model.

Scroll’s model combines distribution of ad-free content for paying subscribers with revenue-sharing to entice publishers.

The ad-blocking start-up, which launched in 2018, introduced this combination of good journalism plus revenue for hundreds of U.S.-based sites, including big media players, such as the Atlantic, BuzzFeed, and Vox Media.

Subscriptions to Scroll were previously $5 per month, but the company will no longer accept new sign-ups as Twitter works on integrating it into its platform.

I’m so excited to say that Twitter is acquiring @tryscroll! We’ll be going into private beta as we integrate into a broader Twitter subscription later in the year. https://t.co/KUJh8d6HJR Here’s why… pic.twitter.com/SnY3ew5Tne
— Tony Haile (@arctictony) May 4, 2021

Twitter has not yet given extensive details about exactly how the change will look, but has been clear about why it made the acquisition.

“People come to Twitter every day to discover and read about what’s happening”, Mike Park, Twitter’s vice president for product, said in a blog post announcing the deal. “If Twitter is where so much of this conversation lives, it should be easier and simpler to read the content that drives it.“

🥁… NEWS! Twitter is acquiring @tryscroll.

Scroll gives readers what they want: clutter-free reading across the web, and publishers what they need: a way to make more money than they would through ads on their site. A short 🧵…https://t.co/3NCfsEwNTv
— Mike Park (@mep) May 4, 2021