Kickstarter pulls campaign after it raises more than $600,000 in just a few days and investors heap criticism on developers

An internet router that promised to anonymise online activity and raised over $600,000 in funds has been suspended from the Kickstarter fundraising site after an online backlash.



Anonabox developer August Germar confirmed to the Guardian on Friday that the fundraising site had suspended its pitch. Kickstarter has informed funders that their money will not be collected.



In its first three days online the company attracted eight times its initial funding goal of $7,500. But the product, a 2.4in by 1.6in router, that directs internet data through the Tor network, software designed to allow anonymous web browsing, was heavily criticised on the online forum Reddit.



Critics charged that the company was using off-the-shelf components and that Germar had failed to answer their questions in an “ask me anything” (AMA) questions and answers session.



“I think I should cancel my pledge,” wrote one Kickstarter backer on the site. “It troubles me that August was not forthcoming that they sourced the entire hardware package from that off-the-shelf Chinese router.”



In a letter to investors, Kickstarter said: “We take the integrity of the Kickstarter system very seriously. We only suspend projects when we find strong evidence that they are misrepresenting themselves or otherwise violating the letter or spirit of Kickstarter’s rules. As a policy, we do not offer comment on project suspensions beyond what is stated in this message.”



“You know as much as I do about this. They [Kickstarter] haven’t told me anything. I think there are was a lot of negative press. A lot of people didn’t want the device to exist,” said Germar.



Tor acts as a cloaking device, hiding information disclosed through regular browsing. The service can be used to help people chat and email anonymously as well as skirt censorship.



Germar told the Guardian earlier this week that he initially hoped the device would be picked up by developers, journalists and librarians but the popularity of the fundraiser showed there was a wider audience.