Yahoo unveiled some big changes to Flickr on Monday, both in terms of features and overall design. One of those changes is that free users are no longer limited to a certain number of photos; instead, everyone gets 1TB of space for their full-resolution photos.
With that change comes an end to what used to be the biggest difference between free Flickr accounts and Flickr Pro. As it turns out, that's by design. In addition to lifting the previous upload and storage limits, Flickr is quietly discontinuing its Flickr Pro accounts (existing Pro users can continue to use Flickr Pro) and shifting to a different type of upgrade model.
If you're an existing Flickr Pro user, the new changes might be confusing. We were annoyed when reading the new FAQ on account types. That's why we dug into the changes, and reached out to Yahoo for clarification on what the changes really mean for Flickr Pro users.
Which Flickr Pro Features are Now Available for Free?
The biggest advantage of Flickr Pro was that more than 200 photos were viewable in a photostream, users could only upload 100MB of photos a week and photos were not displayed in full resolution.
With the new Flickr, free users now get 1TB of photo uploads, and the maximum photo size is now 200MB (it was 10MB for free users before). What's more, all users can create collections, post to up to 60 group pools and limit the maximum image size available to others.
Free users can also upload full HD videos up to 1GB each, with playback of three minutes.
Which Features are Still Limited to Flickr Pro?
The old Flickr Pro accounts included unlimited storage space, and that means it can exceed 1TB.
Flickr Pro users also get to view view counts and referrer statistics for their images. Lots of professionals often like this feature because it shows where a photo has been used or linked across the web.
Flickr Pro users can replace photos (without having to reupload), archive high-resolution original images and enjoy an ad-free experience.
Although storage and bandwidth are unlimited, they do come with a caveat. Flickr Pro users are limited to image sizes of 50MB and video sizes of 500MB. If you want to upgrade to the larger file sizes, you'll need to convert from a Flickr Pro to a free account.
Can I Buy a New Flickr Pro Account Now?
No. Flickr Pro accounts stopped being sold as of May 20, 2013. Existing Flickr Pro users can continue to use the service or migrate to a free account.
Can I Still Keep my Flickr Pro Account?
Yes. Last year, Flickr migrated all Flickr Pro accounts into recurring accounts. As long as your account is by way of a recurring subscription (currently quarterly, yearly or for two years), you can continue to renew your account once it expires.
If your Flickr Pro account was the result of a gift certificate, it's possible that because it is not recurring, it and its benefits will end once it expires.
How Long Can I Keep My Pro Account Active?
We asked Flickr how long Flickr Pro users would be able to continue to renew their accounts and were told, "There are no plans for Pro renewals to go away."
Renewal rates will also remain the same as they are now.
What Happens if I Convert to a Free Account
Certain Flickr Pro members have the option to switch to a free account by Aug. 20, 2013.
Switching to a free account will bump users to upload limits of 200MB per photo and 1GB per video, but will also cap users at 1TB of space. Other features such as replacing photos and the ability to look up referrals and statistics will also disappear.
Users will also get ads in their experience.
For users that want to migrate to a free account, you can do so by visiting Flickr.com/Pro, clicking "learn more" and then making your choice.
Users that choose to go to a free account will receive a pro-rated refund for their Flickr Pro account.
What are the New Upgrade Options
Flickr Pro is going away, but Flickr will still offer upgrades for users.
For $49.99 a year, users can remove ads from the Flickr experience. This doesn't add any other features; it just removes ads.
It's worth noting that $49.99 a year is twice what a Flickr Pro membership used to cost.
For $499.99 a year, users can double their Flickr capacity and bring it all the way up to 2TB. Yeah — $500 for another terabyte of storage.
Frankly, if you need more than 1TB of photo storage, we think you're better off either looking at a customized Amazon S3-based solution or at other photo hosts such as SmugMug or 500px
Flickr Pro Users, Will You Stay?
Flickr Pro users, let us know what you think of the new changes to Flickr plans. Will you stay a Pro user, migrate to a free account or are you looking at Flickr alternatives? Tell us in the comments.
Images courtesy of Flickr; screenshots by Mashable
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