PhotoBucket news

[Carol the Dabbler]

Photobucket has just raised their threats another notch:

Inactive Photobucket Account - Immediate Action Requested

We are sending this notice regarding your Photobucket account associated with the email [xxxxxxxxx]. We are currently in the process of deleting free legacy accounts and yours will be deleted soon unless we hear from you.

If you wish to view any cherised images you may have saved, you must login to your account immediately. Either click on the link or type Photobucket.com into your browser and login.

Don’t remember your account password?

No worries, just click this link to create a new one or visit photobucket.com and follow the instructions. If you need further support, please check our Help Center. If you prefer to just delete your inactive account, please follow this link.

After nearly seven years of vague threats, they're gradually getting more specific.  I like that term "legacy account" -- makes me sound kinda important, as in they wouldn't be where they are now (wherever that is, exactly) if it hadn't been for volunteers like me who helped them test their website.

 

[J.P.]

Do they still have any users to threat?
I'm long gone… And I remember this site as it was just a simple, script-free and fast tool to keep your pics handy.

[Carol the Dabbler]

46 minutes ago, J.P. said:

Do they still have any users to threat?

I can say only that they still have at least one NON-PAYING member left.

48 minutes ago, J.P. said:

I remember this site as it was just a simple, script-free and fast tool to keep your pics handy.

*sigh*  Memories . . . .

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

They don't seem to realize that I was NEVER using their site to STORE my photos (merely as a place to hotlink from).  Their latest email has the threatening subject line "We can't keep waiting for a response from you."  Then the message concludes with the same old "If you wish to view any cherished images you may have saved, you must login to your account immediately."

Whatever.

 

And besides, "login" is a noun.  The verb is two words, e.g. "You must log in to your account."  Collins (my favorite trans-Atlantic dictionary) succinctly defines "login" [here] as "the process by which a computer user logs in."

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Today's email has the subject line "URGENT: Your Account Deletion is Imminent!"

Maybe.  Whatever.

The message then attempted to lure me back by saying it's only $5 per month.  I seriously doubted that would include web hosting, so I checked their website to see what their current options are.  It looks like they're wanting to be mostly a storage site.  Their main page lists only two options, private storage ($5/month, or $50/year if prepaid) and group storage ($8/month), with the latter being a way to share your photos with friends.  If you want a hosting option, they're not very enthusiastic about it -- you have to click on a nondescript link to get there, and they charge $12.99/month (which comes to $155.88 for a year).

According to the company's Wikipedia page, "At its peak, Photobucket employed 120 people," but "In 2019, the company employed 10."  Dunno whether that's a result of their erratic behavior since 2017 -- or perhaps their intended direction all along.

So far, looks like our photos are still hot-linked here on the forum, though I believe the watermark has gotten bigger.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Today's love letter from Photobucket has a new subject line:  "For your security, your account has been suspended."  I kinda suspect that the "security" they're so concerned about isn't actually mine, but rather their own -- specifically the financial variety.

The message begins:  "We wanted to let you know that your free account with our service has been deactivated due to inactivity. If you do not reactivate your account, your photos may be permanently deleted."

Not sure what they mean by "suspended" or "deactivated" -- I'm still seeing most of the hotlinked photos in my North Gower filming thread. still watermarked (the two in the very first post are regular links rather than hotlinks, but they also seem to work).  This could be due to my having a generously-sized cache, though.

These threats started nearly seven years ago -- does anyone (other than perhaps the PB staff) still take them seriously?

 

[Caya]

At this point I kinda wonder if some guy bought what was left of the company for a lark (and like a dollar) and now every now and then, when he gets bored, sends out those mails, figuring he might as well try to get a couple bucks outta his purchase.

[Carol the Dabbler]

50 minutes ago, Caya said:

At this point I kinda wonder if some guy bought what was left of the company for a lark (and like a dollar) and now every now and then, when he gets bored, sends out those mails, figuring he might as well try to get a couple bucks outta his purchase.

That would explain a lot!  As you say, it gives him a way to amuse himself.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just got an email with the subject line "This May be Your Last Chance."

Here's the message:

Recover your Photobucket Account Now

For your protection, we locked your Photobucket account associated with [my email address] due to how long it has been since your last login. To recover your account so you can view any photos or videos you uploaded in the past, just click “Recover My Account”. You will be taken to the Account Recovery page on our website where you can easily access your account.   I'm a bit tempted to click on the link below that.  Kinda suspicious that their idea of "access your account" is "send us all your money," though!   ADDED:  Just noticed an email they sent a few days ago:   Login to manage your account. Your account has been inactive for some time. To prevent your account from being deleted, reactivate it as soon as possible. Please log in and follow the prompts to upgrade to one of our paid plans to ensure your account remains active and your data is preserved.   That one was a bit more to the point!

[Caya]

Maybe the five people who still get those mails didn't fall for the first one because they spelled out the "paid plans" bit, so they tried to be more subtle, for a rather generous definition of subtle.

[Carol the Dabbler]

8 hours ago, Caya said:

Maybe ... they tried to be more subtle, for a rather generous definition of subtle.

You may be right -- assuming that their definition of "subtle" is "keep raising the price and lowering the service."  Last time I actually looked, their price for what used to be free was $155.88 per year.  Even if I thought their service was terrific, I wouldn't pay anything close to that for it.  I simply don't want or need nearly enough storage space and/or bandwidth to justify it.