Is Photo To URL free?

Yes. Converting a photo to a URL costs nothing and there's no paid tier gating the basic flow. The free allowance is 10 uploads per IP address per day. Circle Crop, Rounded Corners, and Remove Background are unlimited because they run in your browser and never touch our servers.

Do I need an account or an email address?

No — there's no sign-up, no email confirmation, and no login anywhere on the site. The trade-off is that there's no dashboard either: your links are kept in this browser's local storage and shown in the Upload records drawer, so copy anything you'll need long term into your own notes.

Which image formats and sizes can I upload?

PNG, JPG, WEBP, and GIF up to 5 MB per file. Animated GIFs keep their animation. For PDFs, Office documents, CSV, TXT, and ZIP archives up to 10 MB, use File to URL or PDF to URL instead.

How long does an image link last?

There's no expiry timer and no automatic cleanup after 7, 30, or 90 days — a link is meant to keep resolving for as long as the service runs. That said, no free host should be your only copy: keep the original file, and treat the link as a convenience rather than a backup.

Do you add watermarks or re-compress my image?

No. Nothing is stamped onto your image and no logo is added to the corner. The file is stored and served as you uploaded it, so a 5 MB PNG comes back byte-for-byte rather than as a smaller, softer copy.

Can I use the links commercially?

Yes. You keep every right you had in the image; hosting it here doesn't transfer anything to us or license it to anyone else. Only upload files you own or have permission to publish, since anyone with the URL can view them.

Can I embed the link in Markdown, HTML, or BBCode?

That is the main use for it. In Markdown write ![alt text](your-link); in HTML, use an img element whose src is your link and whose alt describes the picture; on BBCode forums, wrap the link in [img] tags. Because the URL points at the file itself, none of these need to be converted or unwrapped first — the snippets section above has each one ready to copy.

Who can see the images I upload?

Anyone with the link. Uploads are renamed to random identifiers, aren't listed in any public gallery, and are kept out of search indexes — but they're unlisted rather than private, and there's no password option. Don't upload anything you'd mind a stranger opening.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. Tap the uploader to pick a photo from your camera roll or take a new one, and the link appears in the same card. The browser-based editors work on mobile too, though Remove Background is heavier and runs faster on a laptop.

What happens when I reach the 10-upload limit?

The next upload is refused with a message rather than failing silently, and the counter resets at midnight UTC. The limit is per IP address, so a shared office or campus network can reach it sooner than you expect. The in-browser editors are unaffected and keep working.

Can I delete an upload?

Not from the interface yet — self-serve deletion is on the roadmap. Until it ships, use the contact page with the link you want removed and we'll take it down. Clearing the Upload records drawer only clears your local list, not the hosted file.

How is this different from a Google Drive or Dropbox share link?

Those links open a viewer page built around the file, which is why pasting one into Markdown or an img tag shows nothing. The link here is the file, so it renders wherever a URL is accepted — and it takes two clicks instead of uploading, waiting for a sync, and adjusting sharing permissions.

API

Upload a file from your own code and get a URL back. One key, three calls, no SDK to install.

Authentication

Every request carries your key as a bearer token. Create one on your dashboard.

Authorization: Bearer ptu_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Keys are shown once, when you create them. Send them in the header and never in a query string — a key in a URL ends up in access logs, browser history and referrer headers.

Uploading a file

Three steps: ask for a URL, send the bytes straight to storage, then publish. The bytes never pass through our API, which is why file size is limited by your plan rather than by a request body limit.

curl

# 1. Ask for a URL to upload to.
curl -X POST https://phototourl.org/api/v1/uploads \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PHOTOTOURL_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"contentType":"image/png","size":48120,"fileName":"chart.png"}'

# -> {"id":"7f3c…","key":"pending/2026-09-17-7f3c….png",
#     "uploadUrl":"https://…","headers":{…},"completeUrl":"/api/v1/uploads/7f3c…/complete"}

# 2. PUT the bytes straight to storage, with the headers you were given.
curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" \
  -H "Content-Type: image/png" \
  -H "Cache-Control: $CACHE_CONTROL" \
  --data-binary @chart.png

# 3. Publish it. This is where the file is checked and the link is minted.
curl -X POST https://phototourl.org/api/v1/uploads/7f3c…/complete \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PHOTOTOURL_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"key":"pending/2026-09-17-7f3c….png","contentType":"image/png","fileName":"chart.png"}'

# -> {"upload":{"id":"7f3c…","url":"https://…","sizeBytes":48120, …}}

JavaScript

async function upload(file, key) {
  const headers = { Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" };

  // 1. Authorize.
  const start = await fetch("https://phototourl.org/api/v1/uploads", {
    method: "POST",
    headers,
    body: JSON.stringify({ contentType: file.type, size: file.size, fileName: file.name }),
  });
  if (!start.ok) throw new Error((await start.json()).error);
  const { id, key: objectKey, uploadUrl, headers: putHeaders } = await start.json();

  // 2. Send the bytes to storage. They never pass through the API, which is
  //    what lets this handle files far larger than a normal request body.
  const put = await fetch(uploadUrl, { method: "PUT", headers: putHeaders, body: file });
  if (!put.ok) throw new Error("Upload failed");

  // 3. Publish.
  const done = await fetch(`https://phototourl.org/api/v1/uploads/${id}/complete`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers,
    body: JSON.stringify({ key: objectKey, contentType: file.type, fileName: file.name }),
  });
  if (!done.ok) throw new Error((await done.json()).error);
  return (await done.json()).upload.url;
}

Naming, expiring and locking a link

The same controls the dashboard offers. Fields you leave out are untouched; null clears one. Your plan decides which are available.

curl

curl -X PATCH https://phototourl.org/api/v1/uploads/7f3c… \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PHOTOTOURL_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"slug":"q3-revenue","password":"hunter2","expiresAt":"2027-01-01T00:00:00Z"}'

Endpoints

GET	/api/v1/me	Your plan, limits and usage.
GET	/api/v1/uploads	Your uploads, newest first.
POST	/api/v1/uploads	Authorize an upload and get a URL to PUT to.
POST	/api/v1/uploads/{id}/complete	Validate what landed and publish it.
GET	/api/v1/uploads/{id}	One upload.
PATCH	/api/v1/uploads/{id}	Set a slug, expiry, password or protection.
DELETE	/api/v1/uploads/{id}	Delete the file and its link.
POST	/api/v1/uploads/{id}/file	Authorize a replacement for an existing link.
PUT	/api/v1/uploads/{id}/file	Swap the bytes, keeping the URL.

Limits

Uploads are counted against your account, not against each key — issuing more keys does not raise the allowance. Replacing a file costs nothing.

Plan	Uploads	Max size	API
plus · £4	500 / month	50MB	Not included
pro · £12	2,000 / month	100MB	Not included
business · £25	10,000 / month	250MB	Included

Errors

Every failure is JSON with an `error` field, plus whatever context is useful.

{ "error": "Monthly upload limit reached (2000 per month).", "limit": 2000, "window": "month" }

401 — The key is missing, wrong or revoked.
403 — Your plan does not include this.
413 — The file is larger than your plan allows.
429 — You have used this period's uploads.