Download your Flickr photos NOW if you don't want to lose them

Three months ago, Flickr announced sweeping changes to its different accounts, the most significant of which was the news that anyone with a free account would be limited to storing 1,000 photos online.

If you are a Flickr user with a free account, you may well have already noticed that you are unable to upload any more photos -- the new limit kicked on in January 8. But in under two weeks, Flickr will not only prevent you from uploading photos that tip you over the magic number, it will start actively deleting files to keep you within the 1,000 limit. If you want to keep your photos, you'll have to upgrade to a professional account or -- as we'll show you -- download them.

See also:

• Advance warning: Facebook is closing down photo-sharing app Moments in a month -- time to save your pictures!
• Flickr drops Yahoo requirement and gives Flickr Pro users unlimited storage
• How to back up your Flickr photos before your free storage space is slashed

The date Flickr has set for deleting photos is February 5 -- so there's really not long left. It might seem like this is a way off yet, but it's only just over a week, and there's only one more weekend in the interim. If you're busy during the week and need to leave tasks like this until the weekend, you need to move quickly.

If you can't decide which photos to back up, it's worth bearing in mind that when Flickr starts to delete images, it is the oldest that will be purged first.

Here's a reminder of how to download your photos and get yourself back inside the new limit:

1. Log into your Flickr account and head to You > Albums.
2. Hover your mouse over an album and click the down arrow that appears.
3. You'll see a message letting you know that the photos in the album will be zipped up, and you'll be emailed a link to the archive -- you just need to click the Create Zip File button to continue.
4. When you receive the email, click the link to download your photos.

Alternatively, you can opt to download your all of your photos by clicking your profile picture and selecting Settings. At the bottom of the page, click the Request my Flickr data button and you'll receive an email with a download link.

Have you run into any problems with Flickr? Have the recent changes pushed you to take your photos elsewhere?

Image credit: BigTunaOnline / Shutterstock