Pixabay

They say to log in so no robot verifications. So you do and then every other download you have to go through a series of several verifications! Site is a joke as far as a valid site. Too bad because there are good pictures, but you can only look at them unless you enjoy fighting with the poor quality pictures you have to fight to find what they're asking for. If they only want you to download 1, then say so. Don't play games!

I haven't actually contributed to the site myself but its pretty good if you're just looking for photos for various practice projects. The pics are of good quality and can be downloaded in various sizes.

A legal (yet, illegal in every sense) extortion letter from Getty Images ignited my need to find another source of genuinely free images online. Hence, ended up finding this awesome free source of truly free images online i. E. pixabay.com. I fear all the time that such a great source could easily be bought (gobbled up) by greedy and infamous businesses i. E. Getty and we will have to find some other source for genuinely free images. Until that happens, let's all enjoy the free ride.

I used this once for a small generic graphic. It had been planted by a scam troll operation out of southern California. They claimed to own the rights and threatened to sue. It all came to nothing but was a big unpleasant hassle. They didn't really own the absolute rights but were able to produce superficial documentation. They had uploaded the file to Pixabay as bait for the unwitting. I think there may be a lot of similar baits planted across the entire site. Be really careful if you use any of this stuff.

- the pic database is huge
- you can get "tips" from other users
- easy to use query tools with different categories
- you have to put in captcha only if you're an unregistered user

I looked on pixabay for pics I could use on the website I'm building, after a google search of leading sites. To my dismay not one of my searches produced anything. Total waste of time. Customer service is a joke, no help whats so ever and rude. I would not recommend pixabay to anyone.

I came across this website as a Social Media manage in need of a great number of images of good quality on a daily basis and this website has half a million of them. Not only that, if you have good images lurking on your computer you are prepared to share with the community, this is the place to do it. The website is wonderfully simple to use, the owners are very responsive to users's suggestions and all in all, it's a great site. I love it!

I, too, was threatened with a lawsuit from Getty. I'm usually very careful and the one time, I wasn't, well, I learned my lesson.
I absolutely love this site. I downloaded several images and sent them to my graphic designer to be used in my promotional items! I'm so happy with this site. I can use their images without the worry of a lawsuit. And I love that I can contribute to artists who I like.

Let me tell you about my living hell first of all. I innocently uploaded a picture for my blog from google images. It had no copyright or 'this belongs to' so I assumed I was allowed to use it.
Fast forward to today: I've had threatening letters from Getty images to sue me for thousands and they are demanding payment for me using 'their image' They still haven't given me proof that it the image belongs to them. Anyway in my distress I found thousands of people are in this position. On reasearch I came across pixabay a royalty free site with amazing photos and vectors. The community are friendly and helpful which is why I want to share their site with you. Please don't just upload images from the net as they are not 'free'. Safeguard yourselves and go to legitimate websites like this one and download images hassle free.

If you expect good customer service or a friendly environment you won't get it here. Especially if you would like some help. It's definitely not worth asking. Simon one of the 'apparent' CEO's is the rudest most arrogant person I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I was polite, friendly and had read everything on the site before asking for clarification on a few things to make sure I was understanding the use of the 'free photos' correctly. It's a world of confusing information out there! I was told to get lost, he wasn't going to help me and if I asked any questions my account would be closed. I am at a loss to understand his behaviour and have never experienced such rudeness from someone providing a service in my life. There was no need for him to 'threaten me' with account closure as I sure wasn't going to hang around and support a website run by such a rude, arrogant person. I was quite willing to contribute financially on a regular basis too so he lost a paying customer in me. I think he needs to remember the following sayings (hence why I'm writing this review) 1. On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. 2. It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience 3. News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for a good service experience. If you ever get to read this Simon... take note! You definitely need to brush up on your customer service skills. I will make sure I tell anyone and everyone about my experience. I have screen shot your message to me for future reference and as proof should anyone need confirmation of your disgusting behaviour! ADDITIONAL NOTE: In response to Simon's noted added to this review. What he is saying is not true. This was my question and his reply follows: "Hi Simon thanks for your reply. As my question was closed, this was the only way I could respond. Before I asked the question in the forum, I did read every single thing on your forums, on your blog, FAQ's, terms and conditions and messaged the photographers of each photo I wanted to use to make sure that my use was ok with them. I haven't received a reply as yet. I also researched Creative Commons etc etc etc etc so I didn't post the question without research. Copyright is extremely difficult to understand as well as Creative Commons as there seems to be many exceptions. My understanding of the exceptions are that if a person is depicted in a way that causes harm or if a place is easily identifiable then it may still be subject to copyright from a source other than the photographer or if a photo depicts branded items eg., lego then it is still subject to further licensing/permissions or if you water mark or infer that the images are yours by way of printing your website etc on the image... these are all acceptable uses for the public domain images. Are there any other uses that aren't ok that I've missed?

After researching, my conclusion was "yet" I can use them (for my intended use). But as I am new to your site, I want to confirm that my understanding or conclusion is correct and that I wasn't infringing on anyone's rights.

I would really love some help in confirming that I am on the right track in my understanding. I am also very happy to contribute on a regular basis if I can use the photos.

I just need to know that I am on the right track and would really appreciate help.

Regards"

That was my letter to Simon. His response was "Read on your own. With your next message or post, I'll close your Pixabay account!"

I've uploaded his response in the photo attached.

I'm not a person who likes confrontation/writes review etc. but there comes a time when sometimes people should be held accountable for their bad behaviour.

Thank you for reading.

After reading the reviews on this site, it's clear that itwouldn't have made a single bit of difference if I had actually read every single word of the ToS before making an account on Pixabay.

I accept responsibility for not properly researching the rules and regulations, but what I will not accept is the absolutely abhorrent and unprofessional manner in which I was responded to by Simon, the so-called CEO of this company.

I have made sure to keep screenshots of the email exchanges, where he proceeded to insult me and even called me "slow" because apparently I did not understand the rules before making an account on their site.

It is also very suspicious that they keep a PayPal donation button on the page that was formally your profile when you deactivate your account. Essentially, they are making profit off of images that people donated to their site free of charge.

Do not bother with this website. There are infinitely more legitimate stock image websites out there that do not behave in this manner and will treat their users with actual respect.

As a contributor there I can say it is not a scam. Because it provides free images, so there are no misleading advertisements.