Flickr is a photography site that happens to support video, and the proportions matter: there are billions of photographs and comparatively little else. It was built by and for people who take pictures seriously, and two decades later that is still what distinguishes it from the social platforms.
Its most consequential decision was adopting Creative Commons early and at scale. Hundreds of millions of images there carry an explicit licence chosen by the photographer, stating in plain terms whether you may reuse the picture, whether you may do so commercially, and what credit is required.
That is genuinely unusual. On almost every other site the rights position is unstated and users are left to guess, which is why so much reuse happens in a grey area nobody has actually thought about. On Flickr the answer is printed next to the photograph.
Why the licence is the whole point here
It removes the guesswork. Anyone making a presentation, a video, a website or a publication needs images they can demonstrably use, and Flickr is one of the few large sources where that demonstration is trivial.
The volume is substantial. Filtering Flickr's own search to a particular licence returns an enormous body of material, including from museums, libraries, archives, government bodies and space agencies that publish there deliberately.
And the default is respected. A photograph marked all rights reserved is exactly that, and the photographer's contact details are usually on their profile — asking is frequently answered, which is more than can be said for most platforms.
Saving a Flickr photograph
-
1
Read the licence first
It is stated on the photo page, usually towards the bottom right. This takes five seconds and tells you exactly what you may do with the picture afterwards.
-
2
Copy the photo address
Take the flickr.com address from your browser. It contains the photographer's account and a numeric identifier for the image.
-
3
Enter the photo link above
Paste it into the field at the top of this page.
-
4
Take the size you need
Flickr holds a ladder of sizes from thumbnail to original. The larger ones are what matter for printing or reuse.
Reading the licence before you reuse
The labels are short and they mean specific things. Learning them takes a minute and saves a great deal of trouble.
What each label actually permits
Public domain and CC0 mean the photographer has given up their claim entirely: use it for anything, commercially or otherwise, with no attribution required. CC BY permits any use including commercial, provided you credit the photographer as they ask.
CC BY-NC excludes commercial use, CC BY-ND forbids distributing altered versions, and all rights reserved means you need permission. The last is the default for a new upload, so a great deal of Flickr sits under it.
Flickr's own download button is available on many photographs, controlled by the uploader's settings. Where it appears, that is the most direct route and the one the photographer expected you to take.
Flickr photo questions
How do I know whether I can reuse a photograph?
The licence is printed on the photo page, usually at the bottom right. Flickr is unusual in stating this plainly rather than leaving it unsaid.
Can I get the original resolution?
Where the photographer allowed it, yes. Some restrict downloads to smaller sizes, which is their choice to make.
What does all rights reserved mean in practice?
That the photographer kept full copyright. Viewing is fine; reuse needs their permission, and their profile usually has contact details.
Can I use CC BY images commercially?
Yes, with attribution as the licence requires. CC BY-NC is the one that excludes commercial use.
Are there institutional collections worth knowing about?
A great many. Museums, libraries, national archives and space agencies publish on Flickr under open licences, often with material digitised from sources available nowhere else.
Can I save from a private album?
No. Anything requiring a sign-in is out of reach.
Does Flickr have its own download button?
On many photographs, controlled by the uploader. Where it is there, use it.
Can I download Flickr a whole album at once?
No. Each photograph needs its own address.
Where does the image save on Flickr?
Downloads on Android, the Files app on an iPhone, the usual folder on a computer.
Is saving from Flickr acceptable?
For openly licensed work, entirely — that is what the licence exists to permit, and attribution is the one thing to get right. For all rights reserved photographs, a personal copy is one thing and publication is another, and the photographer is usually reachable.