PHOTOBUCKET EXTORTING MONEY!!!

[Super]

NEWS FLASH
PhotoBucket Holding Billions Of Images For Ransom

PhotoBucket, Under the Cover of Darkness, Has, and with no warning, rendered ALL images posted to ALL Forums, Message Boards, Web Sites etc, on the ENTIRE Internet World USELESS! They have changed their rules in the middle of the night without notifying anyone in advance of a Policy Change to its regular Registered Members that they have to have to sign up for a paid subscription if they want, what they are calling “THIRD PARTY HOSTING” ALL their current Images on the Internet back they will have to pay $400 a year.....thats right...$400 a year for the right to Post images on Internet Sites. THIS IS NOTHING SHORT OF EXTORTION & BULLYING without a chance for anyone to change. For our Forum and millions around the Internet, makes topics disheveled because the pictures are no longer there and they are what told the story. PhotoBucket says that our pictures are still stored on their site and one can still link to them, but all “Hot Links” which imbeds the actual photo have been removed. What you now see in the place of the photo is a box how one has to go and change their Account at PhotoBucket in order to get their pictures back. Yes, THEY ARE HOLDING THE PICTURES HOSTAGE AND ASKING FOR RANSOM.

Now why didn't they give prior warning so at least everyone could change their images from actual pictures to Links or better yet, since they have had to have this PREMEDITATED ATTACK in the works for weeks or even months, changed all the Hot Linked Images to just a Link back to Photo Bucket instead of holding them for Ransom. For us here at BluPlasticTracks, hours and years of work have gone down the drain because of the way these SNAKES have abused everyone to pad their own pockets. Completely unacceptable practices and I, for one, is very upset that the hundreds of pictures of mine are no longer their.

Now I understand that there are Commercial Web sites out their that totally use PhotoBucket to drive their business and some use this form of Hot Linking to sell their items Online and at the Online Auction sites like Ebay and they should have to pay for a Commercial Account because they are making money off the use of what PhotoBucket offers for free But to BULLY the average Joe who just Posts an Image on a Message Board or Forum into paying without so much as a warning that they are changing is unacceptable.


I am hoping that the outcry is strong enough that they change this attack or at least some of the other Free Photo Hosting Sites will take advantage of this Major Screw Up by PhotoBucket to bring in new Members. I for one am looking into another and hope they don't end up stabbing their members in the back while they sleep like Photo Bucket has.


Link to PC Magazines Article: http://www.pcmag.com/news/354711/photobu...e-internet

What we now see in the place of the Images is this Ransom Note:

This is why I resisted and refused to use them way back when we lost all of our photos a few years ago!! ...I will never trust a 3rd party in any dealings.
Though my abilities to upload photos has been limited to the "general" thread only here on BPT since then, the services/function provided by BPT still remains a two party process, and I am now very thankful that all my uploaded images to the site, though limited, remain viewable and viable. I am very sorry for you Super, and for all our other members who's passionate hard work, love, and dedication to contribute to BPT now sits in jeopardy

Try https://servimg.com/ i have been on it since 2011.

[Super]

Thanks AC, I will consider Servimg along with this one that I found while looking around http://www.freeimagehosting.net/faq.php Anyone else have any recommendations? At least I can still Download all my images from PhotoBucket to my computer all at once so I have them especially the all the Images that showed the progression of our Layout and its accessories. I then can Upload them all to a Host when I decide on one.

Here is a copy of what was in an Email that was waiting for me when I woke up this morning...the "Plus 500" Plan is $39.99 a month or $399 a year. I am debating of whether I should do it for one month only and in that time, after they restore all my images, be able to change all the Images here to a Printed 'Direct Link' to the Photos so at least a lot of my Threads will make sense and one would only have to click on the Links to see the Photos. I wonder that if I did this it may make it easier to move to another Host and then have the images visible through them.

[ripley802]

I am hoping it is like the article and the revert the change after the see the amount of people upset over this. They will no doubt lose customers over this.

[Super]

I do hope you are right Ripley but I wonder if they care? If they get 10 out of every 100 paying $400 a year will they even care if they lose 90 members. Hopefully all those who relied on PhotoBucket to drive their site migrate away to a Free Host and leave PhotoBucket little choice but to reverse this decision. Even if they did, I think I would still move to a different Host after this as they can't be trusted.

ive just gone and deleted my account with them, and told them why, too. will have a google around and see what else i can find, and then do my best to go through and replace all the photos.

I'll be doing the same deleting my account/pictures, this is just unacceptable, they should at least have given people warning over this.

[Super]

LOL...according to one of the comments below this Article, even though PhotoBucket stated that the only plan that allows for 3rd Party Hosting is $39 a month or $399 a year, you can't pay by the month and only a yearly subscription is offered....what the heck....who is running this company? If this is true, why would you even state that it $39 a month if its not available unless its simply to deceive the public into believing that a discounted yearly membership, i.e. 2 months free, is a good deal. Seems like they are driving their public trust down the tubes by their own hand. Don't they have meetings to brainstorm the ramifications of each move they make or do they just think the general population of the Earth is stupid and wont figure it out. I enjoyed reading the comments below this article but I am wondering why we don't hear more from the major Online News sources about this.

https://www.ghacks.net/2017/06/30/photob...ed-images/

[Super]

Thats an interesting site Bitelet, no need to join to post an image as is the B20 below. Are there additional benefits for creating a free account?