Antivirus software maker AVAST has acquired Secure.me, a company dedicated to making the use of social networking services and apps a safe experience. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
In a blog post, Secure.me co-founder Mario Grobholz notes that he considers the deal with AVAST the “most crucial milestone in our company’s history”:
“This new set up will allow us to design security for the user to protect their data independent from which device is utilized and from where it is being accessed from.
Our mission will remain the same: We will continue our dedication to provide a safe and carefree online experience for everyone; we can now do this at a much wider scale, with even more power and at a higher speed.”
Secure.me launched its initial individual online privacy protection tool in November 2011, ultimately becoming one of the leading security apps on Facebook with more than 90 million Facebook profiles scanned to protect the privacy, security and reputation of its users.
In September 2012, the company introduced App Advisor, a solution to protect users from data-hungry apps in the form of a browser extension and an iOS app.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Grobholz writes that Secure.me started looking for strategic investors in recent months to take the next steps, which ultimately led to AVAST buying the company outright.
AVAST CEO Vincent Steckler commented on the deal thusly:
“The acquisition reinforces AVAST’s position as a worldwide leader in security.
By including secure.me’s cutting-edge social-privacy and security technologies in our own security offerings, we will be giving customers even greater confidence in their online experience, whether they are on a PC, tablet, or a mobile device.”
Secure.me was backed by several investors, including T-Venture, the venture capital company of Deutsche Telekom.
The company has offices in San Francisco and Munich, Germany.
Image credit: Thinkstock
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.