Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

HQ Trivia Co-Founder Colin Kroll Dies of Apparent Drug Overdose

The co-founder of the popular gaming app HQ Trivia app was found dead of an apparent drug overdose Sunday morning in New York, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Colin Kroll, 34, was well known in the tech industry, with HQ Trivia one of his most notable creations. Launched in August 2017, the app became a sensation as thousands joined in to win cash for correctly answering trivia questions.

“We learned today of the passing of our friend and founder, Colin Kroll, and it’s with deep sadness that we say goodbye,” HQ Trivia tweeted. “Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”

Scott Rogowsky, host of the game show dubbed “The Most Jewish App Since JSwipe,” also tweeted his condolences.

Before HQ Trivia, Kroll first gained fame with his hit video app Vine. WSJ found that he also was the chief technology officer at Jetsetter, an engineering manager at Yahoo Inc. and a software manager at Right Media.

Police found Kroll in the bedroom of his Manhattan apartment, a law enforcement source told CNN. His girlfriend had called the New York Police Department asking for a wellness check.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version