BEBO is back, with its founder revealing plans to take on Facebook and Twitter with a social media platform focused on real-time interactions - and it launches this month. 

Naughties social media platform Bebo is being revamped and relaunched, with its website stating February 2021 as a return day. 

Once known for its 'luv' feature where you have three hearts a day to give to friends, with total counts displayed on your profile, Bebo's original founder Michael Birch says the relaunched platform will focus on real-time interactions rather than news feeds.

Mr Birch, alongside his wife Xochi who cofounded the site, ran Bebo from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013.

The couple famously sold it off to AOL for $850million, only to buy it back for $1m. After a series of revamps and false starts, in 2019 Mr Birch sold it once again to Amazon-owned Twitch for $25m - but kept the rights to the brand. 

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Birch called the relaunch 'an experiment' which started 'as a fun lockdown project' but believes it will offer a better way of connecting. 

It is not yet known what Bebo will look or feel, but nostalgia and curiosity will likely bring some of its former 40 million users back.

But one user that will not be welcome on the site is Donald Trump, who has already been banned.

The Bebo website reads: "Bebo is coming back in February 2021 as a brand new social network. We are currently in private beta. If you've been invited please enter the password below.

"This is a totally new site developed by the original founders. All the old accounts are long gone (probably for the better, though sorry for the old photos!).

"On the good news front, Trump is banned from bebo before we've even launched. The world really IS moving forward!"