As the year comes to a close, we want to give a resounding THANK YOU for your commitment to our vibrant photo-sharing community. Before we step into 2024, let’s reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the past year and look ahead to the exciting adventures that await us. 

Recapping 2023

Throughout 2023, we were on the move, from photo challenges that brought out your best work to new features and tools designed to make your Flickr experience even better.

Product highlights

• The recent activities of your contacts have been consolidated into the activity feed, which provides three different layout options (compact, medium, and large) for a faster browsing experience. The content that appears on your feed can be customized to show all activity or selectively filter it to see only specific sources such as people, groups, or just friends and family.
• To keep things consistent across web-based devices, we enhanced our mobile web photo page. Improvements include tag suggestions based on your most used tags, photo download options, and the ability to view, add, and remove albums, among other mobile responsive features.
• We improved search capabilities on the iOS and Android apps to better mirror search options on our web platform. This includes advanced search filters, the option to sort group search results by activity, relevance and size, and the ability to see search results from the people you follow separately from other results. 
• We updated our mobile apps to give users greater control over their comments— photo owners can now delete other members’ comments from their photos, and group admins can delete other members’ comments in group discussions directly within the app. 
• We gave our settings page a reboot to re-organize some actions and make it easier to navigate through all the different options.
• Because everybody loves stats, we meticulously redesigned the Flickr Pro Stats dashboard, boasting an expanded timeline, allowing you to view data over a substantial 36 weeks. You can effortlessly track the trends of photos over the past nine months, and filter data based on views, comments, or favorites. It’s a fuller picture of your photography than ever and we hope you enjoy it.

photo by Marc Barrot

Community Focus 

• In March, we refreshed our Community Guidelines, emphasizing Flickr’s core principles—inspiration, connection, and sharing—to help Flickr members understand what you can accomplish as part of the Flickr community and the behaviors you should expect and embody. 
• Flickr and SmugMug partnered with Black Women Photographers to offer a $2,500 photography grant. Check out the grant 2023 recipient and finalists here or re-watch the SmugMug Live announcement for a more in-depth look at each of the photos selected.
• This year, we proudly achieved Climate Neutral Certification! We’re not just committed to our photographers around the globe, but to our globe itself. As the world’s largest photo community, it’s our responsibility to find more sustainable ways to do business. While addressing our long-term climate impact, we are equally dedicated to safeguarding the open and wild spaces that inspire photographers worldwide. To amplify our efforts, we’ve joined the Mobilizing for Monuments Coalition, underscoring our passion for environmental conservation.
  
• The Flickr Foundation partnered with the Wikimedia Foundation to develop a new software tool for streamlined sharing of CC-licensed images from Flickr to Wikimedia Commons. This collaboration strengthens the visual resources on Wikipedia by harnessing Flickr’s vast Creative Commons collection, enriching content for Wikipedia users and editors.
• Our friends at NASA and The Library of Congress honored a number of historic moments by releasing new albums and inviting Flickr members to solve mystery photos or contribute their images of October’s annular solar eclipse, among many more exciting  things.
• And, we’re closing out the year with Your Best Shot 2023 and MyFlickrYear 2023!

photo by Jeff Sullivan

Sneak Peak Into 2024

In the thrilling journey that lies ahead for Flickr in 2024, users can anticipate more great developments focused on improving the user experience, namely: organization, uploading, feature fulfillment, and overall app modernization.

Organization revolution

Flickr is set to redefine content management with a slew of tools designed to help you organize photos just the way you like. Expect a seamless and intuitive interface that lets you curate and manage your photos with unprecedented ease. From intuitive tagging systems to advanced sorting options, organization is about to become a breeze.

Uploading unleashed

Bid farewell to uploading uncertainties as Flickr gears up for stability enhancements that will make the process more robust and reliable. You can look forward to a hassle-free uploading experience, ensuring  precious moments are effortlessly transferred to the platform, ready to be shared with the world.

photo by Hari K Patibanda

Bug squashing and feature fulfillment

Flickr is not just looking forward; we’re listening. Our team is dedicated to addressing your feedback with a comprehensive approach. This involves tackling issues, squashing bugs, and implementing features requested by the vibrant Flickr community. The goal is clear – to create an environment where user satisfaction is priority #1.

Steps toward modernity

The look and feel of the platform are getting a refreshing update, with impactful design tweaks to make your experience smoother than ever. And it doesn’t stop there – performance is getting a boost for a faster and more responsive app experience, too.

photo by Shawn Harquail

Flickr Turns 20!

Flickr is turning 20 on February 10, marking two decades of incredible memories, stunning visuals, and the vibrant spirit of our fantastic community!

To celebrate this remarkable milestone, we’re rolling out a lineup of events and surprises that you won’t want to miss, so stay tuned! 

photo by Caterina Fake

Thank you, Flickr community! Your presence and engagement on our platform inspire us. We appreciate your commitment to making Flickr your creative home for inspiration, connections, and sharing. Your love for Flickr and photography fuels our drive for improvement. Stay connected through the Flickr blog for ongoing updates on our enhancements. Exciting things are in store for 2024 – see you then!