Alessio Borgmeyer was a student at RWTH Aachen when he released Jodel in October 2014. The app let people post anonymously, and only people nearby could see the posts.
Posts were limited to 150 characters at first, later 240. Readers vote posts up or down, and low-scoring posts disappear. The founding team included Tim Schmitz, Niklas Henckell and Alexander Linewitsch, and the company settled in Berlin.
In November 2016 the Heimat feature let users post to their hometown after leaving it. In June 2017 Jodel announced $6 million from investors including Redalpine Venture Partners and Global Founders Capital, and added a Traveller Feed for visitors.
Ads began in March 2018, paid local promotions followed in 2019 and a premium subscription in 2021. In November 2017 police traced a student in Trier who had posted a threat, and a 2017 study located 96% of sampled posts within 10 metres.