Imgur

Imgur

Basic information
Founded	2009
Legal Structure	Private
Industry	Media Hosting
Also known as
Official website	https://imgur.com/

Imgur is both a media company and image sharing platform turned social media platform founded by Alan Schaaf in 2009. The platform was initially intended to act as a format for users on Reddit to share images. It has been owned by MediaLab AI, Inc. since its acquisition in 2021.^[1]

• User freedom: Users can upload content to the platform, however it cannot be used as a content delivery network (CDN) as per their terms of service,^[2] despite its initial purpose being as such.
• User privacy: Automatically collects device information, which includes device ID (for mobile devices), operating system, and IP address. The company uses technology such as tracking cookies to improve the "server's interaction with your device" alongside third-party advertisements.^[3]
• Business model: Imgur gains revenue via advertisements seen by consumers. Payment is provided by the companies which pay for advertising space on the website.
• Market control: There is limited competition in the web-empowered photo-sharing field, which allows Imgur to dominate.^{[citation needed]}

This is a list of all consumer protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Imgur category.

While initially introduced as a method for keeping the platform up amid increasing server costs since the 2010s,^[4] for nearly a decade, users have been complaining about a large amount of advertisements on both the website and especially the mobile app.^[5][6][7]

Their negligence to moderate advertisements has also led to ads of dubious quality to be seen on both the website and mobile app.^[8] Additionally malicious advertisers historically took advantage of unmitigated JavaScript vulnerabilities to cause their advertisements to immediately redirect a user's browser to their website,^[6] with one user reporting being redirected to a phishing website.^[9]

Shortly after MediaLab acquired Imgur in 2021 they updated their TOS^[2] to include a binding arbitration notice:

These Terms contain a binding arbitration provision and class action waiver terms. Unless you opt out or there is a suit in small claims court, you and we agree to submit disputes to a neutral arbitrator and not to sue in court in front of a judge or jury.

In April 2023, Imgur notified users they would start removing explicit pornographic images and ones uploaded anonymously on 15 May 2023.^[10] The reason stated was due to these being "old, unused, and inactive content", though artistic nudity was not affected by these changes.^[11] Some users on Reddit mentioned this move as "a full Tumblr", with others calling Imgur "completely dead" after this change is implemented.^[12]

On 3 March 2025, it was reported that Imgur, along with Reddit and TikTok were being investigated by the British Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).^[13] Reddit and Imgur allegedly tailored the experience for children aged 13-17 by estimating or verifying their age.^[14]

When Imgur was acquired by MediaLab, it subsequently underwent significant staff cuts, including layoffs affecting its human moderation and other operations teams.^[15][16] This has led to users on the platform facing features frequently breaking, and with the firing of its community management in July 2025,^{[citation needed]} the platform additionally had its transparency eliminated, eventually causing mass-revolts in late August 2025, when the notification feature on the platform was left non-functioning for three days.^[15][17] Instead of communicating with the community about the problem, the remaining moderation instead punished users on the platform.^[17] Protest content published to platform ranged from images of John Oliver to not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content.^[17]

• Reddit