Koprol
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Social networking service |
| Founded | July 2008 |
| Founder | Satya Witoelar, Fajar Budiprasetyo, Leo Laksmana, Daniel Armanto |
| Defunct | August 28, 2012 |
| Fate | Ceased operations; trademark and domain returned to original creators |
| Headquarters | Indonesia |
Area served | Indonesia, Singapore, United States |
| Parent | Yahoo (from 25 May 2010) |
| Website | koprol |
Koprol, which was rebranded as Yahoo Koprol on 25 May 2010, functioned as an Indonesian location-based social networking platform. It enabled users to connect by sharing their whereabouts without relying on GPS technology, showing nearby users upon login.
The service was introduced in various Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Medan, among others, and also expanded internationally to Singapore and the United States.
In June 2012, Yahoo declared that Koprol would cease operations on 28 August 2012. Subsequently, in July 2012, Yahoo consented to return all trademark and domain ownership back to the original creators Satya Witoelar, Fajar Budiprasetyo, and Daniel Armanto.
Early establishment
Development of Koprol began in July 2008 under PT SkyEight Indonesia with a focus on mobile platforms. The service officially launched in February 2009, initially targeting users in Jakarta and offering location sharing alongside status updates. The plan included extending coverage to other Indonesian cities like Bandung and Yogyakarta. Founders Satya Witoelar, Fajar Budiprasetyo, Leo Laksmana, and Daniel Armanto drew inspiration from global social networks such as Plurk, Twitter, Lifestream, and Brightkite.
Features
Koprol allowed users to publish status updates limited to 200 characters accompanied by location tags. Beta functionalities included the ability to share photos and videos. The platform supported integration with mobile devices, Twitter, Facebook, and provided a dedicated BlackBerry application. Beginning November 2009, users could access Koprol using their Yahoo! credentials.
On the technical side, Koprol operated on an Ubuntu system with Apache web server, Passenger application server, Ruby Enterprise Edition, Ruby on Rails framework, and MySQL version 5 as its database.
Acquisition
On 25 May 2010, the American technology corporation Yahoo acquired Koprol for an undisclosed amount. Prior to this acquisition, Yahoo had considered purchasing Foursquare for approximately US$100 million. Yahoo spokesperson Rose Tsou emphasized Koprol’s mobile-centric design and rapid user base expansion while expressing intentions to introduce the service into additional markets.
Before being acquired, Koprol incorporated Yahoo technologies including Yahoo API components such as Fire Eagle, Login, and Contacts. It also served as a local partner during Yahoo Open Hack Day in 2009.
Miscellaneous
The term Koprol translates to Somersault in Dutch. Reflecting Indonesia’s colonial history under the Netherlands, this name was chosen; within Indonesian internet communities, 'koprol' colloquially refers to changing one’s physical location or position.