According to a new report from USA Today, Flickr has been purchased (opens in new tab) by photo-sharing service SmugMug. The company says it plans to "[breath] new life" into Flickr by pouring in the necessary resources and focus.
For what it's worth, SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill sure seems bullish about the service:
Flickr is an amazing community, full of some of the world's most passionate photographers. It's a fantastic product and a beloved brand, supplying tens of billions of photos to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Flickr has survived through thick-and-thin and is core to the entire fabric of the Internet."
It's unclear just how much money SmugMug spent on this 14-year-old piece of the entire fabric of the internet, but it has already launched a landing page for SmugMug + Flickr (opens in new tab).
SmugMug, which has been around longer than Flickr, says the two platforms represent "the world's most influential photographer-centric community." It seems the company plans to stand out from services like Google Photos, Facebook, and Twitter by focusing on its community of photographers both amateur and professional as well as its ongoing commitment to privacy.
Here's what MacAskill told USA Today:
We don't mine our customers' photos for information to sell to the highest bidder, or to turn into targeted advertising campaigns.
Hello, Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. — you've just been called out.
MacAskill says he's not entirely sure about the company's long-term plans for Flickr but SmugMug users can rest easy. The company says its products aren't going anywhere.
