Ellen Pao resigned as interim chief executive officer of Reddit after a user revolt at the online forum, the company announced.

Pao announced her decision to step down in a post published to Reddit, though she blamed her departure on a disagreement with the site's board, not the mounting criticism she'd faced from users and moderators in recent weeks.

Ellen Pao has resigned from her role at Reddit after massive protests. Credit:Bloomberg

"So why am I leaving? Ultimately, the board asked me to demonstrate higher user growth in the next six months than I believe I can deliver while maintaining Reddit's core principles," Pao wrote.