Free Image Hosts
Finding an image host is tough. Especially if you're on a budget. And especially if you've been spoiled by some of our very niche image hosts lately.
So in light of Nickpic.host's shutdown and Imgur's ban of all unregistered and NSFW content, here is a list of alternative sites for you to host your images. This list includes sites I use, sites I've found in my own research, and sites that have personally reached out to me after Nickpic's shutdown.
Lensdump
If you're a Nickpic veteran, the site that's most similar to what you're used to will be Lensdump. The site creator, Swadesh, has invited all Nickpic users to migrate over and has been working with Nickpic's creator, Nick, to implement the image randomizer we all know and loved. Unlike most of the services on this list, they do have a support discord so you can stay up to date about traffic interruptions, maintenance, stats, etc. and get quick support directly from the Lensdump team. Lensdump is free to use for personal use, so things like avatars for your own personal forum accounts, personal image storing, etc. are fine. But any commercial use, like using it to store forum assets (i.e. emoji, banners, backgrounds, etc.) that see a lot of traffic require you to donate. Be sure to check their TOS for any other specific info and join the support discord if you have questions. Overall, Lensdump seems like a great option if you're looking for a new host for your personal images! But if you're looking to host forum images, images you've made for others, etc., you'll want to look elsewhere.
Gifyu
Another chevereto site like Lensdump, Gifyu is practically identical to Nickpic and has been operating since 2014. They have folders, the randomizer, and even a video to gif feature so you can easily make your own gifs from videos you've downloaded! I don't see anything in their terms against uploading images for commercial use, so it looks like this is is a decent option if you need to upload forum assets and your forum doesn't get too much traffic. It's worth noting that the site only allows family-friendly images. Under the free service, gifs larger than 10MB are throttled to 20mbps, there is an upload limit of 5k uploads/day, a bandwidth limit of 100GB/day, and you'll see light ads. You can get rid of these if you pay for the premium service. And be sure to upload images under an account, since anonymous images are deleted after a year. Gifyu has been reaching out to gifmakers, artists, and rpers here on tumblr since Nickpic's shutdown to try to help fill the gap Nickpick left behind. Be sure to read their TOS for any other specific info, but they look like another great alternative for hosting your images. Plus, the support team has been great about answering my questions!
Catbox
Catbox has been operational since 2015 and has been welcoming Imgur refugees since their change in TOS this year. It's cool to see that it's primarily targeted toward content creators and you can setup 2FA on your account. They also have a cool feature called Litterbox, where you can schedule an image for deletion after up to 3 days (which isn't a feature I'd use I just think it's neat). Catbox does allow NSFW content, however, it looks like this service is banned in the UK and Australia, and gets caught by Comcast security firewalls. They also have a 20MB upload limit for gifs and you can only use it for personal images, not for any commercial use (like forum assets). I'm not a huge fan of the album and upload setup, but it's still a great service for hosting personal images. Check out the FAQ for any specific questions you might have.
Postimg
Postimg has been around since 2004 and was specifically made for hosting forum images. It has various forum plugins (not for Jcink) so you can use it to up to upload images directly to your forum, and a handy Windows App for uploading screenshots! In the past, Postimage has had security concerns and malware was reportedly an issue, but they otherwise have good reviews. The biggest downside (for me personally) is that they do not have an image randomizer. But Postimg seems to be fairly reliable when it comes to access and ease of use. Be sure to read their TOS for specifics, but it looks like a good place to store personal images.
ImgPile
At the bottom of my list is ImgPile. If you're desperate, it definitely gets the job done. It promotes some social features like commenting on images and exploring other users' uploads, so if you're used to Imgur you might like this one! However, this website is allegedly used for advertisement and data collection, so if you do choose this service be sure your adblocker is up to date and register with a secondary email account. The creator of this site has since left and created Lensdump. Otherwise, it seems like a decent image host, especially if you're coming from Imgur. Be sure to read their lengthy TOS if you choose this host!
Other services I've found but have not considered for longterm storage (but you might find useful): Freeimage, ThumbSnap, ImgBB, ImageShack, Picinfinty, Picuza, vgy.me, imghut, Turbo Image Host, cubeupload, im.ge, Image Chest, and ImageBam.
As always, here's my gentle reminder to always have hard backups of the images you care about on a thumbdrive, an SD card...hell even a floppy disc if those still exist. Because you never know when a site will go down, change their terms of service, etc.
And for site assets, like backgrounds, emoji, banners, etc, always upload them directly to your website. For all my Jcink users, Jcink's file manager, while archaic, is a dedicated space for these images. And while your forum is up, those images will always be up, too.
