Flickr removes auto photo upload tool from free accounts
Image hosting and sharing site Flickr has taken a step backward by revoking its automatic photo upload tool, Flickr Uploadr, from free accounts.
The platform gave non-subscribers the ability to automatically upload photos straight from their desktop last May, but is now revoking the service and asking users to pay a monthly fee to sign up to Flickr Pro to use the feature.
The Yahoo-owned company underwent a redesign less than a year ago amid competition from the likes of Amazon, Apple and Dropbox, putting a big focus on the Uploadr product at the time.
Yahoo revealed it had incurred a loss of $4.4bn in 2015 at the start of February, and outlined a flurry of strategic changes yesterday evening in an attempt to ease investor concerns, promising to focus more on its search and mail offerings as well as Tumblr.
Flickr is thought to be one of the firm's businesses that will be scaled back in the near future, with reports suggesting that the web giant is to reduce Flickr’s resources and photo service in a way that requires less overheads.