A MySpace clone set up by a German teen just crossed one million users

Anton Röhm had big plans for the summer of 2020. Then a high school senior in Germany, Röhm was about to finish up his studies, and wanted to travel the world. The idea, he says, was to “get new experiences before starting university.”

Then COVID hit Germany, and the world shut down. Traveling became impossible, and Röhm—who learned to code when he was 13—was suddenly stuck at home. “I decided to go all in on my coding projects, and try new stuff,” he says, “just for fun.”

One of those projects was an attempt to recreate MySpace. Bear in mind: Röhm was 18 in 2020. MySpace launched when he was still in diapers, and it had fizzled out into practically nothing before Röhm even entered high school. But the social network had taken on a mysterious place in Röhm’s mind, as a vestige of a past digital era.

So, he decided to try and recreate it using static HTML and CSS. He managed to nail the look of the nascent social network, and initially posted about his work on Twitter and Reddit, where it gained traction.

There was one problem: It wasn’t usable. But people were clamoring for it. Röhm got the first inkling that his COVID side project might become something bigger shortly after launching. “In the first few weeks, there were over 2,000 or 3,000 users already, which was crazy,” he says. “I didn’t expect anything like what happened with SpaceHey. It kind of hit a nerve with the people online. I didn’t expect it to grow that quickly.”

Seeing the project’s potential, Röhm I started working on the backend and infrastructure, adding small features nearly every day. The first version, launched in 2020, allowed users to log in and edit their profile name and description. During university holidays—he began his studies in 2022—he works on the project practically full-time; when classes are in session, he squeezes in a few hours between study and socializing. (Merch sales help fund its upkeep.)

Röhm admits that as the site has grown, moderation has become more of a pressing need—but in his case, tackling spam rather than hate speech. (He’s helped in that regard by a team of five volunteer moderators.) A report feature was implemented early on, allowing users to flag inappropriate content to the moderation team.

However, the way that SpaceHey—and MySpace before it—is designed helps tamp down on the kinds of inappropriate behavior that have blighted the current crop of mainstream social media platforms like X, and pushed some users from them. “There’s no algorithm on SpaceHey, no likes, no feed,” says Röhm. “People can use it whenever they like.” And the customization of profiles, similar to MySpace, allows users to feel free to express what they want, and works as a way of heading off any conflict.

In August, the network crossed the million-user mark. Now 22, Röhm has turned the passion project into something more meaningful and long-lasting. He launched SpaceHey’s mobile app for iOS and Android in late 2023, and continues working on feature parity between the app and website, as well as improving usability.

He also has new features in mind, some inspired by MySpace and others that bring the old-school platform into the present day. “I’m working on bringing all the features from the website into the app and improving everything,” he says. “I’m also working on some new features I haven’t seen anywhere else.”

But he’s keen to keep a point of distinction between SpaceHey, which echoes a simpler, more civil time on social media, and the current crop of platforms that some argue seek to polarize people. “My goal for SpaceHey is to have a safe, friendly environment for everyone,,” he says. “I’m also trying to be different than Facebook or X or whatever. There’s no content sucking you in all the time and demanding your attention.”