Editing Image sharing (section)

== Sharing methods ==

===Peer-to-peer===
With the introduction of high speed (broadband) connections directly to homes, it is feasible to share images and videos without going through a central service. The advantages of peer-to-peer sharing are reduced hosting costs and no loss of control to a central service. The downsides are that the consumer does not get the benefit of off-site backup; consumer [[Internet service provider]]s (ISPs) often prohibit the serving of content both by contract and through the implementation of network filtering, and there are few quality guarantees for recipients. However, there are typically no direct consumer costs beyond the purchase of the initial software, provided the consumer already has a computer with the photos at home on a high speed connection. Applications like [[Tonido]] provide peer-to-peer photo sharing.

===Peer-to-server===
Operating peer-to-peer solutions without a central server can create problems as some users do not leave their computers online and connected all the time. Using an always-on server like [[Windows Home Server]] which acts as an intermediate point, it is possible to share images peer-to-peer with the reliability and security of a central server. Images are securely stored behind a [[Firewall (computing)|firewall]] on the Windows Home Server and can be accessed only by those with appropriate permissions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/homeserver/2009/06/16/secure-online-photo-sharing-with-windows-home-server-and-community-add-ins/|title=Secure online photo sharing with Windows Home Server and Community Add-Ins|newspaper=Windows Home Server Team Blog|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref>

===Peer-to-browser===
A variation on the peer-to-peer model is peer-to-browser, whereby images are shared on one PC with the use of a local (on the host computer) software service (much like peer-to-peer) but made available to the viewer through a standard [[web browser]]. Technically speaking, this may still be described as peer-to-peer (with the second peer being a web browser) but it is characteristically different as it assumes no need to download peer software for the viewer. Photos are accessed by regular [[Uniform Resource Locator|URLs]] that standard web browsers understand natively without any further software required. Consequently, photos shared in this way are accessible not only to users who have downloaded the correct peer software (compatible with the software in use by the sharer).{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Peer-to-browser sharing has (similar to peer-to-peer) reduced hosting costs, no loss of control to a central service, and no waiting for files to upload to the central service. Furthermore, universal web browser access to shared files makes them more widely accessible and available for use in different ways, such as embedding in, or linking to, from within web pages. As with peer-to-peer, the downsides are lack of off-site backup, possible inhibition by some ISPs, and limitations in speed of serving.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

===Social networks===
With the emergence of [[Social networking service|social networks]], image sharing has now become a common online activity. For example, in Great Britain, 70% of online users engaged in image sharing in 2013; 64% of British users shared their photos through a social network. Facebook stated in 2015 that there were approximately two billion images uploaded to its service daily. In terms of image sharing, Facebook is the largest social networking service.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Malik|first1=Aqdas|last2=Dhir|first2=Amandeep|last3=Nieminen|first3=Marko|date=2016-02-01|title=Uses and Gratifications of digital photo sharing on Facebook|journal=Telematics and Informatics|volume=33|issue=1|pages=129–138|doi=10.1016/j.tele.2015.06.009|s2cid=550229 |url=https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/27330}}</ref> On Facebook, people can upload and share their photo albums individually, and collaboratively with shared albums. This feature allows multiple users to upload pictures to the same album, and the album's creator has the ability to add or delete contributors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.informationweek.com/applications/facebook-expands-shared-photo-albums/d/d-id/1111310?|title=Facebook Expands Shared Photo Albums|last=Burnham|first=Kristin|date=2013-08-27|newspaper=InformationWeek|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref> [[Twitter]] collaborated with [[Photobucket]] in developing a new photo sharing service so users can attach a picture to a tweet without depending on another application such as TwitPic or Yfrog.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.networkcomputing.com/networking/twitter-tweaks-tabs-adds-photo-sharing/280225931|title=Twitter Tweaks Tabs, Adds Photo Sharing|last=Strohmeyer|first=Robert|date=2011-08-11|newspaper=Network Computing|access-date=2016-10-22|archive-date=2016-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024091504/http://www.networkcomputing.com/networking/twitter-tweaks-tabs-adds-photo-sharing/280225931|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of June 2016, there were more than 500 million monthly active Instagram users.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/|title=Number of monthly active Instagram users from January 2013 to June 2016 (in millions)|date=2016|website=Statista|access-date=13 October 2016}}</ref>

===Link aggregation sites===
Image sharing on [[social news]] and image aggregation sites such as [[Reddit]], [[Imgur]], [[4chan]], [[Pinterest]] and [[Tumblr]] allow users to share images with a large community of users. Images are the most liked content of the aggregation and media sharing site Reddit; and according to data analyst Randy Olson<ref>{{cite web|title=The Cold War Between Reddit and Imgur Has Officially Begun|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-cold-war-between-reddit-and-imgur-has-officially-begun/|publisher=Motherboard|access-date=4 May 2017|language=en-us|date=2016-06-21}}</ref> as of August 2014, nearly 2/3 of all successful posts on the site were links to an image hosted on Imgur.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Olson|first1=Dr. Randal S.|title=Why is Reddit replacing Imgur?|url=http://www.randalolson.com/2016/05/25/why-is-reddit-replacing-imgur/|access-date=4 May 2017|date=25 May 2016}}</ref>

===Mobile===
Sharing images via mobile phones has become popular. Several networks and applications have sprung up offering capabilities to share captured photos directly from mobile phones to social networks. The most prominent of these is [[Instagram]], which has quickly become the dominant image sharing-centric social network with over 500 million members.<ref name=":1" /> Other applications and networks offering similar service and growing in popularity include [[Streamzoo]], [[Path (social network)|Path]], [[PicsArt Photo Studio|PicsArt]], [[Piictu]], and [[Starmatic]].

===Apps===
[[Instagram]], [[Snapchat]], and [[Nice (mobile app)|Nice]] are examples of photo sharing apps with millions of users.