Twitter buys a password security startup, then sets it free

Twitter just scooped up password security startup Mitro, its second acquisition this week.

Mitro is a secure password manager that lets users share password information within specified groups. The software uses encryption to ensure passwords stay safe.

Rather than shut down the service, Twitter is transitioning the product into an open-source project.

“As of today, we are releasing all of Mitro’s server and client code under the GPL license on Github,” a message on Mitro’s site reads. The company will be seeking advice from the Electronic Freedom Foundation on turning to service into a community run project.

In short, this was likely a talent grab.

Before being acquired, Mitro raised a total of $2.4 million dollars with Google Ventures and Matrix Partners contributing during its seed round.

The purchase comes less than 24 hours after another buy. Is Twitter on a little late summer buying spree? Back-to-school shopping, perhaps? (Ha ha.) Yesterday, Twitter acquired deep learning tech startup Madbits. The startup emphasized its focus imaged-based learning in a post on its site.