The new, soon-to-launch, European social media platform, W Social, is entering a market dominated by US-based players, positioning itself around identity verification which can retain anonymity, privacy, and closer alignment with European regulatory and cultural norms.
Founded by Anna Zeiter, former Chief Privacy Officer at eBay, the platform is built on the premise that current social networks suffer from a lack of trust driven by bots, anonymous accounts, and opaque algorithms.
“We feel there might be room for an alternative… especially with users that have been verified as humans,” Zeiter told Pathfounders.
W requires users to verify they are human before posting, but will also allow pseudonymous accounts. The company says it uses a privacy-preserving system in which identity verification is handled externally by a third party, and the platform only receives a token confirming the user is human.
“Whoever wants to share information needs to verify as a human… but you can decide whether to post under your real name or a pseudonym,” Zeiter said.
The approach is designed to reduce bot activity while maintaining some flexibility for users in restrictive environments. The company said it adjusted its policy after feedback from users in countries where anonymity is necessary for safety.
W is built on the AT Protocol, allowing interoperability with other decentralised social networks such as Bluesky. The platform can already exchange posts and messages across networks.
Zeiter said the company aims to provide a more European alternative to existing platforms: “We can already connect with our friends from BlueSky, it works seamlessly. But of course, over time, we want to… attract users on our side. But we are friendly with the other communities or confederations on the AT protocol because at the end we share the same vision and we want to make the AT protocol community grow.”
The business model will combine advertising with micropayments for content provided by media partners. W plans to allow users to pay small amounts for individual articles rather than subscribing to full publications.
“Users can upload money to their wallet and then buy individual articles,” Zeiter said.
The company also plans to share advertising revenue with media partners, with higher payouts linked to user engagement with content.
“If a user is reading a full article… we will share more revenue back with the media houses… to incentivise high-quality content,” she said.
W is positioning itself as both a social network and a media distribution platform. It is in discussions with European media organisations and investigative journalism groups to bring content onto the platform.
On content moderation, Zeiter said the platform would allow controversial discussion within legal limits but exclude pornography and aims to deter harassment.
Zeiter acknowledges the tension between engagement-driven business models and maintaining quality discourse.
W is structured as a for-profit company but says it is focused on long-term development rather than a rapid exit. “It’s not our goal to have a quick exit… it’s our goal to believe in the mission,” Zeiter said.
The platform was pre-launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos and has attracted users from 180 countries, according to the company.
“We received thousands of messages… ‘build it now, we need you now,’” Zeiter said.
W is currently onboarding users from a waitlist, with a broader rollout expected in the coming weeks.
