no need to preserve the original file names. Criticism Photobucket announced a change to its Terms of Service on June 26, 2017, requiring a US$399 per year subscription fee for those who want to hotlink images from Photobucket's servers to display on other sites, a service it had previously offered free. This change resulted in vast numbers of photos online being replaced with a graphic advising users to upgrade their account. Photobucket has received extensive criticism in response, with many charging the company with "blackmail" or "extortion", and destroying the design of many websites. In March 2018, under the guidance of new CEO Ted Leonard, plans initially ranging from US$1.99 to US$8.99 monthly based on storage size replaced the flat-rate model. Prices later jumped to a range from US$4.48 to US$11.48 monthly for those same usage increments. The criticism is reflected on ratings across various online reviews - resulting in an average of 1.2 stars out of 5 across two popular review websites. It has also resulted in an "F" rating on the Better Business Bureau page. See also Comparison of video services Flickr Imgur List of online video platforms List of photo sharing websites References External links Companies based in Seattle American companies established in 2003 Image-sharing websites Former News Corporation subsidiaries American photography websites 2003 establishments in Washington (state)