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The summer of 2022 began with blocking for users of a number of foreign services: first, the Canva service for designers stopped working in the Federation, and on June 2, PixaBay announced that access to the photo bank was blocked for residents of the Federation.
What is Pixabay
Despite the fact that you can find any image and video on the Internet, you need to use them with care so as not to violate copyright. For the legal borrowing of material, the international service Pixabay was created.
To download an image or video in full size, each user needs to register on the platform. The service has a special license that gives users the right to use the material at their discretion. That is why the service is so loved by millions of people: here you can simply draw inspiration or find the right image for a training presentation, fill your company’s website with suitable photo content, or give a template for editing to a designer.
Initially, by uploading material to the platform, the authors waive copyright, so all files are freely available. Thus, PixaBay is interesting not only for those who are looking for an image, but also for those who are ready to share their work with the world. This is a kind of meeting place for hundreds of thousands of photographers and designers with “consumers”.
Pixabay Alternatives
Due to the restriction of access to Pixabay for users, the issue of photo hosting analogues has become relevant. Popular services, whose functionality is generally similar to Pixabay, will help the user:
- Find and download a suitable image or video;
- Publish your work or build an entire portfolio;
- Create a backup copy of your content or even use the photo bank storage instead of a hard drive and various drives.
1 Unsplash
The Unsplash platform is worth looking into if you’re looking for a high-quality free image. Professional photographers publish their work here, and the collection has already exceeded 2 million images. You don’t even need to register to download content, and the service is absolutely free.
The only, perhaps, minus of this service is a completely English-language interface. This means that image searches will also need to be performed using English keywords.
Subscription: not required, service is free
Official site: unsplash.com
2. Flickr
Flickr, which has been on the market for almost 20 years, is another example of a photo bank with an extensive database of free images. For the search, there are various filters and the option to subscribe to a specific author, if you like his work, you can start following his updates.
The principle of operation and interface are similar to popular social networks, so beginners will quickly find their way around the platform.
Flickr has unobtrusive ads even in mobile apps (for IOS and Android). You can download and upload content without restrictions on a paid plan, the price for a subscription starts from $10.
Subscription: from $ 10
Official site: flickr.com
3. Pexels
Not all image and video banks hold multimillion-dollar libraries, for example, Pexels has only a few hundred thousand pieces of content. Here for there is a Russified interface, and free download of photos of any format.
The service has created a donation system for authors, thus any user can financially support the creator of the image. Interestingly, the administrators often host photo challenges and other online events for authors and users. Pexels, in addition, does not impose paid subscriptions on users – all files on the service are in the public domain.
Subscription: not required, service is free
Official site: pexels.com
4. Avopix
Another photo bank where you can borrow an image and then use it for personal or commercial purposes is Avopix. The service has a rich library, a smart search and filtering system. There is, of course, free content. A separate block is devoted to vector graphics. And access to the premium library requires a subscription, which Avopix offers in partnership with Shutterstock. The fee for using the service will be from $29.
Subscription: from 29 $
Official site: avopix.com
5 Shutterstock
Shutterstock is the largest storage service with 400 million images. In addition, the platform hosts videos and music.
Registration is simple, just two steps separate you from being able to download content. The service is paid and very carefully monitors all attempts to illegally use its images. For convenience, there are several tariffs and types of licenses.
Subscription: from $ 29
Official site: shutterstock.com
Pros and cons of PixaBay
Why PixaBay stopped working in Our Country
Against the background of the escalation of the -Ukrainian crisis, a number of Western countries have imposed sanctions against Our Country. After that, many foreign services suspended their work with users. So, for example, PixaBay blocks access to its photo bank to all IP addresses. If a user tries to enter the site, a message appears about blocking the service with a link to the UN site. Thus, the creators of PixaBay decided to express their support for Ukraine.