Photobucket 3rd party hosting

[Antonmb]

For a couple of years at least I've been using a free Photobucket account to share images on AA. Today I received an email saying that 3rd party hosting had been cut off effective immediately and to reinstate it I have to upgrade to a plan costing $40/month. Even worse, all the links to any images I've posted here using Photobucket appear to be broken. I must say I find this an astounding action to take. I would gladly, with some appropriate notice, have upgraded to a $5-10 account, but to be cut off without notice and pressured to pay $40/month is infuriating.

Is anyone else using Photobucket and had the same experience? If so, will you upgrade or move to some other option, and what other options are there?

[Weirdcuba]

SmugMug. Used it for years - I love it (way more than I need, kind of oriented to pros, but works great). No advertising, which was key for me.

[DonBattles]

I've been with Photobucked for about 10 years and so far I've not received any such e-mail. I did however log onto my account and see that a "new" terms of service was in place (see below). I believe my account is up for renewal in January so maybe I will get the same news then (or before)?

Photobucket.com Terms of Use

Last revised June 28, 2017

Thank you for visiting Photobucket.com (the "Site"), operated by Photobucket.com, Inc. ("Photobucket" or " we" or "us"). Please carefully read these Terms of Use ("Terms") so you understand how we operate this Site, what we can offer and how we can work together. Please also read our Privacy Policy and Copyright and IP Policy. By using the Site and the Photobucket Services (even if you're just visiting), you are agreeing to the Terms and Privacy Policy posted at the time of your visit.

About Us

Photobucket offers photo and video storage, 3rd party image hosting, image linking, story creation products and sharing and printing services (collectively referred to as " Photobucket Services") that are offered via the Site, other social media, mobile services and mobile applications.

Our Customers

The Site is open to anyone 13 years of age or older , but some of the Photobucket Services are only available to registered members ("Members"). You can visit the Site without registering and we will consider you a "User."

Membership Responsibilities

When you become a Member, you agree to the following:

· You have provided true information when you registered to be a Member;

· You have given us a valid email address, and we may confirm upon registration, or at any time thereafter, via a confirming e-mail which may require a response to complete your registration or keep it active;

· You will notify us if something changes;

You are 13 years of age or older;

· You are not breaking any laws when you use the Photobucket Services; and

· You will not violate these Terms as a Member.

If you become a Member, you are responsible for the Content (defined below) and activities in your account, for protecting your Content with a secure password and not sharing your password with anyone. We recommend using a combination of numbers, symbols and lower and upper case letters to create a secure password.

Photobucket reserves the right to terminate your Membership at any time (even if you've paid a monthly or annual subscription), without warning for any or no reason, with or without prior notice or explanation and without liability, and can even take legal action if needed.

For example, please note that it is our policy to terminate the accounts of Members who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. We have a similar policy for Members who violate these Terms or commit illegal acts using the Site or Photobucket Services—although we may, in our discretion, instead deny, restrict or suspend access to all or any part of the Site, or Photobucket Services or suspend or terminate a Member's account when something similar occurs.

You may cease use of the Photobucket Services at any time. Even after you are no longer a Member, you will still be responsible for the promises you have made to us about your Content. You'll be responsible for any damages that result from your breaking those promises as further outlined below.

Types of Accounts, Pricing and Limits

Visiting : There is no cost to visit the Site or to register as a Member.
Free account : Each individual Member gets one free account that provides 2 GB of free storage or space available for your original photo files, or videos under 10min. The free account does not allow any image linking or 3rd party image hosting. If a free account Member exceeds their Content Limit, their account will be immediately suspended and they will need to become a “Paying Member” (defined below) in order to continue accessing their account. You can upgrade to a Plus account at any time.
Ad-free Account : The Ad-free Account offers Members the ability to use the Site without seeing any third party banner advertisements when logged into your Ad-free Account (note, viewers of your images within Photobucket will see ads unless they, too, have Plus accounts and you will continue to see Photobucket offers and announcements). This account level is available for $2.49 / month, payable by the Member on a monthly recurring basis.
Plus Account : The Plus Account offers several paid options that may give the Paying Member more storage, bandwidth, 3rd party image hosting, image linking and/or other services as outlined below. Once and during such period of time in which you subscribe to and pay for a Plus Account, we will consider you a "Paying Member." Please note that all Plus Account subscriptions are billed annually at the commencement of the service. Photobucket may also offer a monthly billing option for its Plus Accounts (see terms and restrictions, below).

Available Plus Account Plans : Photobucket offers the following Plus Account Plans:

o Plus 50 Plan: 52 GB of Storage for $59.99 / Year. The Plus 50 Plan does not allow any image linking or 3rd party image hosting.

o Plus 100 Plan: 102 GB of Storage for $99.99 / Year. The Plus 100 Plan allows for unlimited image linking but does not allow 3rd party image hosting.

o Plus 500 Plan: 500 GB of Storage and unlimited bandwidth for $399.99 / Year. The Plus 500 Plan allows for unlimited image linking and unlimited 3rd party image hosting.

Additional Features of all Plus Accounts : When you upgrade to any Plus Account, you will also receive:

o Premium Support. You have direct access to our tech support team. Email our PLUS Support Team

o No Ads: When you're logged into your Plus account, you won't see any ads on Photobucket pages (note, viewers of your images within Photobucket will see ads unless they, too, have Plus Accounts and you will continue to see Photobucket offers and announcements).

Modifying Your Plus Account : Photobucket has the right to change the limits at any time. If you are a Paying Member, you can always upgrade to a higher-level Plus Account and will have the opportunity to downgrade your service at the beginning of the next annual period anniversary following any such modifications.
Payments, Expirations, Refunds and Cancelations :

· When you subscribe to the Ad-free service or to a Plus Account, you authorize Photobucket to charge you using your selected payment method for all applicable fees. If the auto-renewal option is selected, Photobucket will automatically charge your credit card monthly or annually, as applicable, unless you notify us that you want to cancel or disable auto-renewal prior to the next renewal.

· Paying Members are responsible for providing (and updating when necessary) complete and accurate billing and contact information to Photobucket.

Paying Members can cancel at any time by contacting support@photobucket.com. If you cancel, except as provided below, you will not be charged for any future term of service, and you will continue to receive the service you purchased through the end of the paid term. Fees are non-refundable except as may be required by applicable law. In the event that Photobucket offers a monthly recurring payment option for any of its Plus Accounts, such offer requires an annual commitment that commences upon the date in which the Plus Account subscription is purchased by the Paying Member and ends on its one year anniversary (“Commitment Period”). In the event that a Member selects the monthly recurring payment option (if offered) and later terminates his/her Plus Account prior to the natural expiration of the Commitment Period, such Member shall be responsible for the immediate payment of an early termination fee equal to the product of the monthly recurring amount times the months remaining in the Commitment Period. Such payment shall be payable by the credit card or other form of payment that was used at the time of purchase. In the event that such credit card or other form of payment is no longer valid, Paying Member shall be responsible for making other payment arrangements.

· If any fee is not paid in a timely manner, or Photobucket is unable to process your transaction using the credit card information provided, Photobucket may suspend or terminate your account until such time as the applicable payment is made. At our discretion, Photobucket may also delete some or all of Your Content so as to reduce your storage space below the applicable Content Limit, which would result in the conversion of your Plus account to a free account (which is subject to the restrictions described in these Terms). In the event that Photobucket elects to seek payment of the early termination fee described above through an outside collection agency, Paying Member shall be responsible for the full cost and expense associated with such collection efforts in addition to the payment of accrued interest between the date in which Photobucket attempts to charge the early termination fee and the date in which the fee is actually paid at rate of 1.5% per month or the highest rate allowed by applicable law.

· Paying Members are responsible for all taxes. Photobucket will charge taxes when required to do so.

Content and Service Limits

Photobucket continues to grow and get better because of users like you (Thank you!). If you are a Member, you can upload files containing text, images, sound and video ("Content"). However, here are some limitations:

File Size and Bandwidth Limits : The file size, bandwidth and amount of storage you have are based on your account level (stated above).
Types of Content Limits : At Photobucket, we strive to create a place where everyone feels welcome, so please be mindful of others. Broadly speaking, please do not upload Content you didn't create, that violates somebody else's rights, demeans another person, is offensive or harassing, seeks personal information or passwords, is a form of spam or that is illegal. We reserve the right to terminate your use for violation of these prohibitions or similar activities.

Content & Privacy

You retain all your rights to any Content you submit, upload or display on or while using Photobucket. This means that you own all the Content you post and are responsible for its settings:

· You can mark any Content you upload as "private." Content marked "private" will not show up in public search results on the Site and only Users you have given access will be able view the Content either in your album or in search results.

· Although we have created measures to protect your privacy, please be aware that just because something is marked "private," does not mean that only the people you invite will see it. Users may still be able to find the direct URL for a photo or video through other search mechanisms, and then share or link to it outside the Site.

Please remember, if you share Content from the Site or provide someone with a direct link to Content, others may be able to see it, even if you marked it "private" on the Site.

· If you remove your Content from the Site or mark Content as "private" that was previously public, Photobucket will promptly hide it from search results on the Site; however, we might still have it stored in backup files or on servers, and we may retain it as needed. We are not responsible for sites that it was shared to before it was marked "private."

· When you make your Content public, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-revocable, right and license to copy, sell, convey, distribute, stream, post, publicly display (e.g. post it elsewhere), reproduce and create derivative works from it (meaning things based on it), whether in print or any kind of electronic version that exists now or is later developed, for any purpose, including a commercial purpose with the right to sublicense such rights to others.

· By making your content public, you are also giving other Members on Photobucket the right to copy, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and create derivative works from it via the Site, third party websites or applications (for example, via services allowing Members to order prints of Content or t-shirts and similar items containing Content, and via social media websites), provided such use is not for a commercial purpose.

· By uploading, you are confirming that the Content is yours—no one else's—and that the uploading and use of your Content does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights, intellectual property rights or human rights of somebody else. If we learn that you are infringing others' rights or are using Content that is not yours, Photobucket has the right to remove this Content and you agree that you are responsible for any costs associated with the infringement.

· Photobucket may manipulate your Content to offer the Photobucket Services (including transcoding and/or reformatting Content) to allow its use throughout the Photobucket Services.

· Photobucket has the right to place advertising, promotions, notifications or identifiers, banners and watermarks on or near your Content, and how and what are up to us.

· Photobucket may moderate Content. However, we are not responsible for what you have uploaded and we are under no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate Content. We have provided some tools on the Site, such as links to "flag as inappropriate," so you can let us know if you find Content offensive.

· If you stop using the Photobucket Services, your Content may remain on the Site unless you actively remove your Content, and the rights you granted to us and other Users remain.

· In order to continue to improve the Site and Photobucket Services, we may use software and other things on the Site that we own or that have been licensed to us ("Photobucket Software"). Photobucket has also created the look, feel and architecture of the Site and has posted certain images and videos ("Photobucket Content"). Together the Photobucket Content and Photobucket Software are the "Photobucket Materials." Photobucket Materials are ours and remain ours. Except in viewing the Site, you agree that you will not copy, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce or create derivative works from the Photobucket Software. If you follow these Terms, you are entitled to use and display the Photobucket Content the same way you would use other Public Content on the Site.

Limits on Use

· It is a violation of these Terms to disrupt the Site or the way it functions, interfere with other Users' enjoyment of the Site or Photobucket Services or use the Site to deceive, harass or solicit people.

· It is also a violation to scrape the Site, fusker files or otherwise make any use of data mining, robots or similar data gathering and extraction tools.

· It is up to Photobucket whether to terminate your use for violation of these prohibitions or similar activities.

Other Important Guidelines

· You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. Nonetheless, we reserve the right, but are not obligated, to intervene for the benefit of the Site and Photobucket Services.

· These Terms and the Privacy Policy can change. Again, please carefully read this document and our other policies. We may announce if any "big" changes are made, but so long as you've used the Site after the change, regardless of any separate notice, you agree to the current posted version of the Terms.

· Our Site is hosted in the US. There may be more or fewer protections for you in your country than here.

· Software available in connection with the Site and services offered through the Site (the "Software") is further subject to United States export controls. No Software may be downloaded from the Photobucket Services or otherwise exported or re-exported in violation of U.S. export laws. Downloading or using the Software is at your sole risk.

· These Terms are governed by, and interpreted in keeping with, the laws of the State of New York, regardless of any conflict of law provisions. You and Photobucket agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the State of New York to resolve any dispute arising out of the Agreement or the Photobucket Services. YOU AND PHOTOBUCKET HEREBY EACH KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTENTIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY CLAIMS, COUNTERCLAIMS, CROSS-CLAIMS, OR THIRD PARTY CLAIMS) ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT. FURTHER, EACH PARTY HERETO CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OR AGENT OF EITHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH PARTY WOULD NOT IN THE EVENT OF SUCH LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THIS WAIVER OF RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL PROVISION. EACH OF THE PARTIES ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THIS SECTION IS A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT FOR THE OTHER PARTY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT.

· As a Member of Photobucket, if you become aware of misuse of the Photobucket Services by any person, please email abuse@photobucket.com and include a URL at which the material in question may be located. If such misuse includes suspected infringement of copyright or other intellectual property, please follow the Photobucket Copyright and IP Policy .

You use the Site at your own risk and the Site and services are provided "AS IS."

· We are not saying that the Site will meet any of your specific needs or that you will get any particular results if you use the Site. We are not responsible for the conduct of other Users' conduct on- or off-line.

· We encourage you to always keep backups of your Content. Photobucket is not responsible if any of your Content is deleted, or if any modification, suspension or discontinuation of the Site or services causes you to lose any Content—even if you're a Paying Member.

· While we make an effort to keep the Site up and running at all times, we are not responsible for any errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, delays in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any User communication, whether the result of our maintenance of the Site or any problems or technical malfunction of any network, servers, software or equipment, Internet traffic or any other failure of any nature.

· We are not responsible for advertisements or applications or services that are posted on or through the Site, nor do we have any responsibility for the goods or services provided by our advertisers or via other websites or applications, including our print vendor.

· The Site may contain links to other websites, wholly unrelated to Photobucket. For example, when you seek to print an image, you will be redirected to Photobucket's print vendor. If you enter the print site, or otherwise click on links to third party sites, you will be leaving the Site. When you do, you will be governed by the terms of use and privacy policy of that other site. You should review that site's terms and policies.

Things to Keep in Mind

Though everything in these Terms and in our Privacy Policy is a binding contract, we need to let you know the following:

Limitation on Liability . IN NO EVENT SHALL PHOTOBUCKET BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE PHOTOBUCKET SERVICES, EVEN IF PHOTOBUCKET HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, PHOTOBUCKET'S LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO PHOTOBUCKET FOR THE PHOTOBUCKET SERVICES DURING THE TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.
Your Indemnity to Us . If you breach any of the representations made herein regarding your rights in the Content, or your uploading of Content violates any of the promises you have made, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold Photobucket, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Site and Photobucket Services in violation of that and/or arising from any Content that you post on or through the Site and Photobucket Services.
Some Obligations Continue Even After You've Gone . Even if you close your account or we terminate your Membership, you will still be responsible for indemnifying us for breaches that took place while you used the Site and Photobucket Services. Obligations you owed to us and Users of the Site, which by their nature are intended to survive closing or termination, will survive.

[jdandy]

Tony.......I stopped using Photobucket years ago when they kept changing their user interface multiple times. I use Flickr.

[2fastdriving]

I use it, they haven't tried to charge me, and my links still work. Maybe you went over 2gb?

[Yamaki]

I have a Photobucket Plus account. I paid, I get 52GB of space and it's all good.

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by Yamaki

I have a Photobucket Plus account. I paid, I get 52GB of space and it's all good.

And you can still post links and they work? According to the new Terms of Use, the 52gb plan doesn't allow sharing like or 3rd party hosting.

[Yamaki]

I can still post links and pics:

[Antonmb]

Don, thanks for posting the new Terms of Use. It's strange that I got this message but others haven't.

Marc, my account shows that I'm only at 12% usage, so I'm not over any limit, and the new Terms of Use clearly state that the free account doesn't allow linking or 3rd party hosting.

Michael, according to the new ToU even your Plus 50 plan, with 52gb of storage for $59.99, doesn't allow either. The Plus 100 allows linking but not 3rd party hosting. You have to step all the way up to the Plus 500 plan for $400/year to get both.

Maybe they just haven't caught up with you guys? Or maybe you're grandfathered because you were already on a paying plan? In any case I hope you don't get hit with this, it's quite ridiculous.

[audio bill]

Originally Posted by Yamaki

I can still post links and pics:

Maybe not, your posted image doesn't show up to me. Please don't shoot the messenger!