If you visit Flickr's website or SmugMug's page today, you'll be informed that photo storage service SmugMug has acquired Flickr, another photo hosting service, from Yahoo.
Flickr was once a popular online photo hosting service. Users could sign up and upload their photos, join groups, share photos, or use the comment and voting features.
The rise of smartphones and competing image hosting services has reportedly affected Flickr's popularity.
Yahoo tried to compete with the new services with redesigns of Flickr, but it seemed that the company's priorities were elsewhere.
Information is scarce at the moment, but SmugMug says:
SmugMug has acquired Flickr.
If you use our products today, rest easy, they aren't going anywhere.
The future is bright, but we'll only get there together.
Let's do this.
SmugMug has revealed, however, that Flickr will operate as a standalone entity, meaning the websites and services will remain as we know them for the foreseeable future. No one knows what the company will decide later.
SmugMug and Flickr represent the largest communities of photographers in the world. We want to provide photographers with both the inspiration and the tools they need to tell their stories. We want to bring the excitement and energy to inspire more photographers to share their work. And we want to be a welcoming place for all photographers: the hobbyist, and the professional.
Verizon acquired Yahoo last year, and Flickr was part of the deal. Neither Verizon nor SmugMug has revealed any further details about the deal at this time.
However, the FAQ does reveal a few additional details:
- Flickr accounts and SmugMug accounts will continue to function as before.
- The photos will not be moved or changed.
- Flickr will continue to offer the free version.
- Flickr pricing for Pro customers will not change.
- All Flickr users will receive emails asking them to accept SmugMug's Terms of Service.
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