Flickr API
Someone used the Flickr API to post photographs on his blog tagged with “surf”, including one of my photographs (see previous post ‘Mirnser Klif‘). The API fully ignores the privacy permission setting since I have set it to All rights reserved. How stupid is that. Flickr gives you the option to protect your photographs and violates your settings with their API. I contacted the blog owner about it (since he unauthorized published my photograph) and I sent a complain message to Flickr.
That particular blog is offline now, and I hope he will change his settings. In the meantime I will be removing all my tags on Flickr since these enable these API scripts to easily find photographs on Flickr. And in the Privacy & Permissions section of my Flickr account I hided my stuff for public searches by 3rd party sites that use the API. When my photographs are still being misused I might set all my photographs to private and move them someplace else.
Be warned:
All my photographs are copyrighted and you cannot use them without my permission.
Filed under: 2008, Flickr, Photography | 15 Comments
Tags: all rights reserved, API, Flickr, Flickr API, privacy settings
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This problem has been raised many times. Flickr’s API is not secure. My images of Berkeley, California once ended up as candidates in a Microsoft sponsored competition for images of “Iconic Britain” through tag polling using Flickr’s API. The site is now down since the issue was widely noted. I’m moving my images to Zenfolio for this reason. It’s unfortunate because Flickr has the best community model). However, Flickr apparently only sees your photos and my photos as content for them to distribute.
I think it is very shameful and will start removing my tags on Flickr. Meanwhile I check other options like Uber.com, Zenfolio, PBase, or Photoshelter.
Thank you for your comment, Andrew.
Wouter
Have you tried this ? http://flickr.com/account/prefs/optout/?from=privacy
Thank you for mentioning it. Last night I applied the setting for hiding my stuff for public searches by 3rd party sites that use the API. This morning I checked some website where I discovered last night that they were showing my photographs too. And it seems to work. But to make things sure I will delete my tags too with the risk that someone will not be able to quickly find my photographs on Flickr. “You win some, you lose some”
Thanks again!
Wouter
Hi Wouter, you can use Digimark to digitally watermark your photographs. You run a report and if they are posted anywhere on the internet, it will show you where.
Also, it is easy to download photographs from your blog. Singleforareason uses a format in wordpress that does not allow you to save her photographs.
Ciao!
Thanks for these tips Nathalie. I will search for some information about Digimark, and look how singleforareason did protect her blog.
Merci.
Wouter
This sounds really strange. I was thinking about using Flickr, too, but this is a bit weird. I wanted to publish my photos (CC), anyway, but I would not want to distribute them to companies, for example…
I think Flickr is still very good. In particular when you publish your photographs with CC. The API is mostly used by private users for blogging. Althought tags can help others find your photographs more quickly, it enables the API to find your photographs too.
The problem is that if you remove your tags, then you remove your photographs from being found for valid reasons as well. Many legitimate organizations now search Flickr to find photographs for legitimate (paid or requested permission) use. Even the “great” Getty Images has announced a deal with Flickr to do that. So you just end up hiding your photographs rather then getting more audience and mind share for them.
And Flickr really does have a decent presentation, web tools and community stuff. Could be better, but I haven’t found a site that is heads above Flickr for presenting your photos and working with them online.
Internet theft of photos is always going to be an issue. Aggressive followup of infringements is the only real option. You can also lose a lot of sleep and money over that as well. Like a lot of copyright infringement cases, it probably makes sense only to go after large theft or especially notable theft. If it is Random Joe’s blog with 6 readers is it really worth the trouble? I think Fickr just needs to make sure their API does not allow download of any size other than the size that you have declared to be the publicly visible one. As Andrew notes, however, Flickr probably views their vast collection of photos as an “asset” and will work to make that asset accessible.
–Eric
I shouldn’t be to bothered with it, but it simply wasn’t the first time it happened to me. For instance I noticed that many photographs I tagged with Ede (my hometown) were displayed at an internetsite with news and photographs from my hometown. It was a commercial site with advertisement. You become a content creator for someone else who makes money with it.
So I hope the hide search for 3rd parties setting is enough. Every photosharing site wants to make profit, Flickr too. It will always remain an issue for me how they use your content.
Cheers,
Wouter
Well I promise not to steal your work!
(one down, millions to go….)
ROTF, You made my day
Thanks forkboy!
Cheers!
Glad to help. But seriously: how did you find out your picture(s) had been ‘borrowed’ against your will? I’d be curious to know if the same has happened to me (as if).
I did have someone contact me about using some of my pics for a website that is for a local park district. I didn’t mind at all! I was rather flattered.
In the WordPress dashboard I saw an incoming link. I have added a link to my blog at the description of all the posted photographs on Flickr. That is how I got the incoming link.
I reguraly though check Technorati, Google Blog Search, and some other (mostly blog) search tools.
I have seen some incoming links on mine as well, but no pictures ‘borrowed’.
I guess I really shouldn’t worry though….one look at my pics and it’s all over!