Image Hosting Knowledge Center
Understand the core concepts of image hosting to make the right choice
Image Hosting vs Cloud Storage vs Chat Apps: What's Different?
Many people ask: 'Can't I just use Google Drive or send images via chat?' These three are actually designed for very different purposes:
Image Hosting
- Provides direct URLs for embedding in forums, websites, and Markdown
- Global CDN acceleration — instant loading for anyone who opens the link
- Supports password protection, expiration, and burn-after-read
Cloud Storage / Chat Apps
- Requires login or authorization to view
- Chat images are compressed and may expire
- No direct URLs — cannot be embedded in external websites
What Is Image Hosting?
A cloud service built for image sharing — providing direct URLs, CDN acceleration, and embeddable links for forums, websites, and Markdown.
Read the full guideWho Needs Image Hosting?
Forum posts, blog images, social sharing, remote collaboration screenshots, product photos — any scenario that involves sharing images.
Compare servicesWhy Password Protection?
Photos may contain EXIF data like GPS coordinates. Password protection with burn-after-read ensures only authorized viewers can access them.
Learn about EXIF privacy risks