Flickr Removes 1 TB Free Storage, Adds New Pro Features

Today Flickr issued a press release announcing changes to their free and pro plans. This comes just a few months after their acquisition by SmugMug. Here are some of the notable changes:

• Flickr ‘no longer offering a free terabyte of storage’, limits free users to 1000 photos or videos

• Premium option ‘Flickr Pro’ features unlimited photo/video storage, ad-free browsing, advanced stats at ‘less than half the cost of Apple, Google or Amazon storage options’

• Flickr Pro is now $49.99 a year, and users that upgrade before November 30 will also get 30 percent off the first year

Photo: Flickr

“From the start, Flickr has been an act of co-creation, and without you, our community, we’d be just an empty picture frame – no more than a template and a web address. We need the community’s help to make Flickr a sustainable, thriving community again. We are committed to building the future we all want for Flickr – one where the site can keep evolving in all the areas that have made it the incredible, diverse, and beautiful place it has always been. We’re excited to define the future of photography together.” – Don MacAskill (Flickr CEO)

Changes to Flickr Free Accounts

According to Flickr, free accounts will soon be limited to 1,000 photos or videos. Users have until Nov. 30 to upgrade to Pro in order to add more photos/videos, and access other features.

The official terms from Flickr:

*Free members with more than 1,000 photos or videos uploaded to Flickr have until Tuesday, January 8, 2019, to upgrade to Pro or download content over the limit. After January 8, 2019, members over the limit will no longer be able to upload new photos to Flickr. After February 5, 2019, free accounts that contain over 1,000 photos or videos will have content actively deleted — starting from oldest to newest date uploaded — to meet the new limit.

Changes to Flickr Pro Accounts

Flickr Pro is now $49.99 yearly or $5.99 if you pay month to month. Pro plans get unlimited storage for photos and videos. Some other features of Flickr Pro include ad-free browsing, advanced statistics and analytics for users, and partner discounts on Adobe Creative Cloud, SmugMug, Peak Design, and more.

At $49.99 a year, Flickr is offering something very few other storage companies will: unlimited storage. This is one of the best deals for content creators with tons of data to back up.

Comparing Storage Pricing from Google, Apple, Amazon, Dropbox

As a photographer/videographer, you have plenty of options for storing your photos and videos in the cloud. Which is the best?

• Google One costs $29.99 a year for 200 GB

• Apple iCloud costs $2.99 a month ($35.88 a year) for 200 GB

• Amazon Drive/Prime Photos costs $59.99 a year for 1 TB

• Dropbox costs $99 a year for 1 TB

None of the services above offer an unlimited plan at a comparable rate. Flickr also comes backed with a large community of photographers and creative professionals that you can collaborate with if you are looking for that aspect.

Photo: Flickr

Removal of Yahoo Login

As of January 2019, Flickr will no longer require you to log in with a Yahoo account. CEO Don MacAskill said in a blog post that this was the most requested feature from Flickr users who want a simpler way to log in and manage their account.

In the same post, he shares ways Flickr is working to reduce spam including removing bad comments and suspicious accounts.

Finally, with Flickr migrating from Yahoo’s servers to AWS (Amazon Web Services), Don MacAskill claims Flickr will be faster than ever.

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