For the past 10 years I’ve been using the photo-sharing website Photobucket to host the pictures featured on my three blogs. In June, Photobucket deleted all the photos and said that I (and millions of other users) would have to pay $400 (£302) a year to “release” them. I’d happily pay a reasonable sum, but this is extortionate. One solution would be to download my photo library, but Photobucket has said a bug makes it impossible for users to do so (other than at the laborious rate of one picture at a time). I’m not out of pocket, but the blogs represent 10 years’ work. KM, London
Photobucket, which claims to have 100 million users, allows photos uploaded on to its site to be embedded on multiple third-party websites. Until this summer its service used by thousands of Amazon and eBay sellers was free, funded only by advertising revenue. The US-based company says it informed users by email 30 days before the new charge kicked in, but you – along with other customers who have taken to social media – insist you received no such warning.
In June, the company posted a brief note on its website advising users to read its updated terms and conditions, and only those who had read through the first 500 words of small print would have encountered a paragraph about fees. As a result of the change, photos across Amazon and other websites were replaced by graphics stating that the Photobucket account needed to be updated, and many bloggers like you complain that years of work have been held to ransom.
Photobucket says that while none of your photos will appear on your websites until you pay up, you can still access your archives and take them elsewhere. Yet its customer services admitted to you in August that a known technical issue was obstructing downloads. Customers have understandably complained that the charge is steep and that it has affected photos embedded in good faith over 14 years instead of only future uploads.
Photobucket is entitled to charge for its service if it wants to, but it has not handled this well. From now on, be wary of committing your life’s work to a free hosting service.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
