Deal explainer
Photobucket's plan to license billions of photos to AI companies
Quick answer
Reuters reported in April 2024 that Photobucket, which hosted 70 million users at its peak, was negotiating with multiple AI companies, reportedly including Apple, to license parts of its 13 billion-photo and video archive for AI training at rates discussed between 5 cents and over $1 per image. The company later began notifying inactive users their public photos could be licensed and faced a class-action lawsuit over the plan.
What was reported#
- Reuters reported Photobucket CEO Ted Leonard was in talks with 'multiple tech companies' to license its archive of 13 billion photos and videos.
- Leonard told Reuters he discussed rates between 5 cents and $1 per photo and over $1 per video, depending on the buyer.
- MacRumors and PetaPixel reported Apple was among the companies reportedly seeking a licensing deal with Photobucket.
- Business Insider reported in October 2024 that Photobucket planned to license users' public photos, while private photos would be excluded.
- Ars Technica reported Photobucket was sued in December 2024 in a proposed class action alleging it planned to sell users' biometric data without consent.
- Photobucket said about half of its 13 billion images were public and eligible for AI licensing, according to Business Insider as cited by Ars Technica.
Related deals
SourceX was not a party to these deals. This tracker summarizes public reporting so businesses can see how AI data licensing is developing.
Sources
Public sources, checked 2026-10-09. SourceX is not affiliated with the organizations named.
- Reuters: Inside Big Tech's underground race to buy AI training data reuters.com
- Business Insider: Photobucket Plans to License Your Public Photos for AI Training businessinsider.com
- Ars Technica: Photobucket opted inactive users into privacy nightmare, lawsuit says arstechnica.com
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