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Flickr to Restrict Download Sizes for Free Accounts (Here’s How to Save Your Photos and Assets)

Flickr says free lunches are over, friendo.

Jourdan Aldredge • Jun 11, 2025

As any seasoned photographer can attest, Flickr is truly one of the best websites and communities for photographers who take pride in their work. Launched in 2004, Flickr has established a great reputation among photographers and content creators of all types, who rely on the site to showcase some of their best work.

However, despite its many free-to-use features, Flickr has also been used by some as a free cloud storage service. Which obviously isn’t the point of Flickr. According to reports, Flickr has decided to restrict download sizes for free accounts.

This is aimed at combating users who have been using Flickr as a de facto free cloud storage platform. Here’s what you need to know about this change. And, if you’re someone looking for storage options for your years of photos and other digital assets, we have some storage solutions to help make your workflow limitations a thing of the past.

Flickr to Restrict Download Sizes for Free Accounts

Set to take place starting with a May 15th service update, Flickr will restrict downloads of original and large-size images (larger than 1024px) owned by free accounts. If you use a free account, this update will apply to both your own content and to content shared by other free members.

By limiting access to original and large-size downloads from free accounts, Flickr aims to preserve the integrity of the platform and continue delivering high-quality service to its Pro community.

Flickr also notes that users will still be able to upload photos of all file sizes to a free account, and that free account holders will continue to be able to download medium and smaller-size photos. Flickr Commons members are also exempt from these changes and will continue to have access to all download sizes.

Flickr users needed to "upgrade to Flickr Pro before May 15 to continue downloading original and large-size content without interruption." For free users that missed that deadline, or don't plan on upgrading to Pro who need to get their images out of Flickr, Flickr adds that "if you ever need a copy of your data, members can always request and download their content, including original files, through the Flickr Data section of your settings."

Other Storage Solutions

This brings us to other storage solutions. If you’re looking for options to help you achieve without limitations or restrictions for your photos or other assets, OWC’s perfectly-tailored solutions are custom-crafted to take you further.

While cloud-based hosting, sharing, and backup services definitely have a place in every photographer's workflow, having fast, reliable, redundant, and local storage is a critical component to ensuring your data is where you need it, when you need it. OWC offers several solutions perfect for archiving and backing up your image library.

From portable solutions like the bus-powered Envoy Ultra, Express 1M2, and Envoy Pro Elektron, to desktop solutions like the RAID-ready ThunderBay and ThunderBlade families, all the way up to rack-mounted options like the Flex 1U4, OWC has a storage solution you can tailor to your photography workflows.

To learn more about helpful storage solutions, check out our External Storage solutions to get started.

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