Reddit was moving away from Imgur when it launched its own image uploads in 2016.
Before native uploads existed, Reddit users commonly uploaded pictures, screenshots, GIFs, and other graphics to Imgur and then posted the resulting links on Reddit. Imgur had become Reddit’s informal image-hosting partner, even though the services were separate companies.
In May 2016, Reddit began testing native image hosting in selected communities before expanding it more broadly. The change let users upload images directly to Reddit, keeping the upload and viewing experience inside the platform and giving Reddit more control over presentation, traffic, and storage.
The shift was not an absolute ban on Imgur: users could still post Imgur links. Imgur also had its own Reddit roots—founder Alan Schaaf created the service in 2009 partly to make image sharing easier for Reddit users. Reddit later added native video hosting as well, further reducing its dependence on external media hosts.