Imgur was created in 2009 in response to usability and file-retention problems on Reddit.
Alan Schaaf started Imgur as a side project while studying computer science at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He designed it as a simpler image-hosting service for Reddit users, who often struggled with existing upload sites and broken or disappearing links. Schaaf announced the service in a Reddit post on February 23, 2009.
Imgur’s early connection to Reddit was central to its growth. Users could upload an image and share a direct link instead of relying on cumbersome hosting tools. The service reached one million total page views within its first five months, helping establish it as Reddit’s de facto image host for pictures, screenshots, and memes.
Imgur later developed its own online image-sharing community rather than serving only as Reddit infrastructure. In 2016, Reddit introduced native image hosting, reducing Reddit’s dependence on Imgur. The names Photobucket, Flickr, and DeviantArt are related to image sharing, but none matches this specific origin story.