Mozilla is divesting WebThings iot platform and turning it into an open source project

Mozilla will divest the internet-of-things platform Mozilla WebThings and turn it into an independent open source project. The platform will now be called WebThings. Mozilla will shut down WebThings servers at the end of this year.

Control and responsibility for WebThings is moving from Mozilla to the community, Mozilla says. The new project will have a new website and Mozilla will phase out investments in the platform. Mozilla wants to ensure that all current WebThings Gateways continue to work, but does say that certain things will soon be different.

WebThings is a gateway that allows users to control and manage their IoT devices. The platform works with the Raspberry Pi and smart thermostats and locks, among other things. The platform has been developed to work locally; The operation of WebThings will not change as a result of the transfer of management, Mozilla says. Users accessing their remote gateway through a mozilla-iot.org domain can continue to do so until December 31st. Mozilla is working on a replacement service to be able to access the platform remotely afterwards. Upcoming software updates are being developed by the WebThings community. Mozilla will communicate how users can sign up for this.

Mozilla does not give a reason for the divestment. Mozilla recently announced that it wants to focus on paid products, among other things. The company says it has been hit hard by the corona crisis and has had to lay off 250 employees. That number equates to a quarter of all employees. Presumably, the divestment of WebThings has something to do with this new focus.