<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
(	O
,	O
stylized	O
as	O
imgur	B-Algorithm
)	O
is	O
an	O
American	O
online	O
image	B-Algorithm
sharing	I-Algorithm
and	O
image	B-Algorithm
hosting	I-Algorithm
service	I-Algorithm
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
social	O
gossip	O
that	O
was	O
founded	O
by	O
Alan	O
Schaaf	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
has	O
hosted	O
viral	O
images	O
and	O
memes	O
,	O
particularly	O
those	O
posted	O
on	O
Reddit	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
started	O
in	O
2009	O
in	O
Athens	O
,	O
Ohio	O
as	O
Alan	O
Schaaf	O
's	O
side	O
project	O
while	O
he	O
attended	O
Ohio	O
University	O
for	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
was	O
created	O
as	O
a	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
usability	O
problems	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
file	O
retention	O
encountered	O
in	O
similar	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2012	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
expanded	O
its	O
functionality	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
directly	O
share	O
images	O
to	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
instead	O
of	O
requiring	O
images	O
to	O
gain	O
enough	O
attraction	O
through	O
other	O
social	O
media	O
sites	O
like	O
Reddit	B-Application
to	O
show	O
up	O
on	O
the	O
popular	O
image	B-Algorithm
gallery	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
beginning	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
relied	O
on	O
donations	O
to	O
help	O
with	O
the	O
web	O
hosting	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
used	O
three	O
different	O
hosting	O
providers	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
year	O
before	O
settling	O
on	O
Voxel	O
,	O
then	O
switching	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
Web	I-Application
Services	I-Application
in	O
late	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Reddit	B-Application
introduced	O
native	O
image	B-Algorithm
hosting	I-Algorithm
,	O
causing	O
a	O
notable	O
decrease	O
in	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
submissions	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
27	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
announced	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
MediaLab	O
AI	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
holding	O
company	O
of	O
internet	O
brands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
19	O
April	O
2023	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
changed	O
their	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
and	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
will	O
delete	O
"	O
old	O
,	O
unused	O
,	O
and	O
inactive	O
content	O
that	O
is	O
not	O
tied	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
account	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
nudity	O
,	O
pornography	O
,	O
&	O
sexually	O
explicit	O
content	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
move	O
has	O
drawn	O
significant	O
criticism	O
as	O
being	O
indicative	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
fundamental	O
problem	O
encountered	O
by	O
users	O
of	O
other	O
image	B-Algorithm
hosting	I-Algorithm
services	I-Algorithm
(	O
Photobucket	B-Algorithm
,	O
Webshots	B-Algorithm
)	O
where	O
countless	O
internet	O
resources	O
,	O
many	O
obscure	O
,	O
that	O
relied	O
on	O
the	O
long-term	O
solvency	O
of	O
users	O
 '	O
hosted	O
images	O
face	O
the	O
challenge	O
of	O
link	O
rot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2014	O
,	O
five	O
years	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
founded	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
raised	O
$40	O
million	O
from	O
Andreessen	O
Horowitz	O
and	O
Andreessen	O
Horowitz	O
's	O
Lars	O
Dalgaard	O
joined	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
's	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
was	O
profitable	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
generating	O
revenue	O
from	O
Pro	O
subscriptions	O
and	O
advertising	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
9	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Schaaf	O
introduced	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
accounts	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
custom	O
image	B-Algorithm
galleries	I-Algorithm
and	O
manage	O
their	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
used	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
policy	O
to	O
keep	O
images	O
unless	O
they	O
went	O
three	O
months	O
without	O
receiving	O
any	O
views	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
point	O
(	O
unless	O
they	O
were	O
Pro	O
account	O
images	O
)	O
they	O
might	O
be	O
removed	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
space	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
June	O
26	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
has	O
provided	O
a	O
"	O
Meme	O
Generator	O
"	O
service	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
image	O
macros	O
with	O
custom	O
text	O
using	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
public	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
gallery	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
viral	O
images	O
from	O
around	O
the	O
web	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
algorithm	O
that	O
computes	O
views	O
,	O
shares	O
and	O
votes	O
based	O
on	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Members	O
of	O
the	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
community	O
can	O
vote	O
and	O
comment	O
on	O
the	O
images	O
,	O
earning	O
reputation	O
points	O
and	O
trophies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
October	O
2014	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
had	O
automatically	O
converted	O
uploaded	O
animated	O
GIF	O
files	O
into	O
WebM	B-Application
and	O
MP4	O
video	O
files	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
much	O
smaller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2015	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
link	O
video	O
URLs	O
to	O
create	O
GIFs	O
directly	O
through	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2015	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
announced	O
"	O
Topics	O
"	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
way	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
sort	O
and	O
view	O
specific	O
images	O
that	O
belonged	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
group	O
determined	O
by	O
tags	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
and	O
June	O
2015	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
introduced	O
official	O
mobile	O
apps	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
reward	O
users	O
for	O
their	O
interactions	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
provides	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
Trophies	O
for	O
achievements	O
including	O
being	O
a	O
member	O
for	O
1	O
,	O
2	O
,	O
3	O
,	O
4	O
,	O
5	O
or	O
6	O
years	O
,	O
"	O
Best	O
Post	O
of	O
the	O
Day	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Best	O
Post	O
of	O
the	O
Month	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Best	O
Post	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Top	O
Comment	O
of	O
The	O
Day	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Top	O
Comment	O
of	O
The	O
Month	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Top	O
Comment	O
of	O
The	O
Year	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
2015	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
's	O
director	O
of	O
community	O
Sarah	O
Schaaf	O
announced	O
its	O
first	O
ever	O
"	O
Camp	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
included	O
hiking	O
,	O
stand-up	O
comedians	O
,	O
and	O
meetings	O
with	O
the	O
staff	O
of	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
and	O
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Imgur	B-Algorithm
's	O
community	O
members	O
include	O
former	O
Mythbuster	O
Adam	O
Savage	O
and	O
Olympic	O
athlete	O
Cody	O
Miller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
23	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
was	O
notified	O
of	O
a	O
potential	O
security	O
breach	O
that	O
had	O
occurred	O
in	O
2014	O
and	O
affected	O
the	O
email	O
addresses	O
and	O
passwords	O
of	O
1.7	O
million	O
user	O
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
24	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
Imgur	B-Algorithm
began	O
notifying	O
affected	O
users	O
via	O
their	O
registered	O
email	O
address	O
to	O
change	O
their	O
password	O
.	O
</s>
