

We contacted Photobucket for clarification and will update the article if we receive a response.👐🏿 Support ImageGlass Kobe on Microsoft Store! It appears that the kicked out users have no other recourse to regain access to their media, e.g., for exporting. Photobucket has deactivated the accounts of all free users and asking these users to either sign-up for a free trial or a paid plan to regain access to their images and media.

Photobucket changed course in 2018 when it introduced cheaper plans for users starting at $1.99 per month and restoring hosted images for a limited time for free users.

This decision led to a mass exodus of users who found viable Photobucket alternatives on the Internet. Photobucket asked users to pay them $399 to reactivate third-party image hosting. This lead to dummy images being displayed on numerous websites that used the image hosting service for that purpose. In 2017, Photobucket, then a very popular image hosting service, announced that it would disable third-party hosting for all accounts. Photobucket launched a new version earlier this month that it says offers faster speeds, easier uploading and album management, a smart auto backup feature and a guarantee that images are not compressed. The company is holding a birthday sale currently that gives subscribers access to a Plus account per year for $50. Photobucket's plans start at $6 per month or $65 per year. Users may download their images and videos only if they sign-up for a free trial, which requires a credit card, or when they sign-up for one of Photobucket's free plans. The company does not explain why it decided to end support for free accounts. Photobucket has published a help page on its support website that offers additional details. If you encounter any issues during the reactivation process, please feel free to reach out to our member engagement team for assistance". It goes on to explain how former users of the service may regain access to their date: "To reactivate your account, simply click here and follow the instructions provided. The email provides the following information: "We regret to inform you that your Photobucket account has been deactivated because we no longer support free accounts". This appears to be the only option to export media. Users may sign-up for a free trial or one of the three available subscription plans to regain access to their photos and media, and continue using the service. Deactivated accounts are not deleted and all stored images and video files remain in storage.
