thearchivist.funImgur announces it will delete old content not tied to an account
In April 2023 Imgur announced new terms of service that would take effect on 15 May 2023. PetaPixel reported that the update would remove old, unused or inactive content not tied to a user account, and would ban nudity, pornography and sexually explicit content. Artistic nudity would remain allowed only when tied to an account, so anonymous uploads of it would be removed. Imgur said that explicit and illegal content had historically posed a risk to its community and its business, and that disallowing it would address those risks. Images hosted this way are often embedded on other sites, so removing old anonymous uploads can break pages elsewhere; the article does not say how many.
Context and provenance
The scale is not stated in the article, and the exact rule for what counted as old or unused is not given in the page read here. Do not infer a number. The relevant fact for researchers is the combination of two policies: one about content type and one about account ownership.
To judge whether an Imgur link was affected, compare captures from before and after 15 May 2023, and record the address. The article does not define 'old' or 'inactive' or give the number of images removed, so treat any such figure you see elsewhere as unverified until its source is read.
Transmission timeline
- 2023-04
Imgur announces the updated terms.
- 2023-05-15
The new terms of service take effect.
Why it matters
A change of terms aimed at anonymous, old content put the pictures embedded in countless old posts at risk.
What remains uncertain
The exact announcement day is not in the source. The quantity of content removed is not stated.
Sources and evidence
- PetaPixel: Imgur is banning explicit content and wiping images not linked to users
15 May 2023 effective date, deletion of old unused content not tied to an account, the explicit-content ban, Imgur's statement.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.