--- description: New embed and share functions are meant to stave off piracy, but some photographers are furious title: Getty Provides 35 Million Images for Free Use image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783653acbf5b1ca7/69868452cd804dbcb6cc99ee/160649256.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Getty Has Just Made 35 Million Images Available for You to Use Free by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2014 8:13 AM CUT  Celebrity images, like this, are among the most pirated online. Celebrity images, like this, are among the most pirated online.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2014 8:13 AM CUT Getty Images, the largest photo agency in the world, [has made](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26463886 "undefined") a huge amount of their pictures available for free, in order to combat piracy. The now publicly accessible library of around 35 million images includes everything from celebrity shots, stock images and sports events to nature images, while omitting recent photojournalism, for which media outlets will still have to pay. The move is meant to address widespread online photo theft, where people copy pictures without paying for them. While Getty’s new system doesn’t allow you to download pictures, it provides internet users with an easy way to share them. All available images have been equipped with symbols allowing you to share the photo over Tumbler, Twitter or embed them onto a website. Like this: Next to the buttons are a credit line and a large company logo, making the effort a great branding opportunity for the agency. The Atlantic also [notes](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/why-getty-going-free-is-such-a-big-deal-explained-in-getty-images/284264/ "undefined") that Getty will profit by collecting valuable data from people using the service. “You have to adapt to survive,” Rolling Stone photographer Kevin Mazur told BBC. “Evolving to embrace technology that encourages responsible image sharing is the way forward for the industry.” However, not all photographers are happy about the development. Photography journalist Daniela Bowker tells BBC that her Twitter feed has exploded with professionals angry with seeing their work being handed out for free. “They say: ‘Exposure won’t feed my children’,” she says. Or, as the photographer Paul Clarke expresses it on his [blog](http://paulclarke.com/photography/blog/im-a-photographer-getty-me-out-of-here/ "undefined"): “Getty me out of here.” \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26463886 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/15300/getty-provides-35-million-images-for-free/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/15300/getty-provides-35-million-images-for-free/"},"headline":"Getty Has Just Made 35 Million Images Available for You to Use Free","datePublished":"2014-03-07T08:13:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:40.592Z","description":"New embed and share functions are meant to stave off piracy, but some photographers are furious","url":"https://time.com/15300/getty-provides-35-million-images-for-free/","keywords":["Tech","Photo","images","free","photographer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783653acbf5b1ca7/69868452cd804dbcb6cc99ee/160649256.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783653acbf5b1ca7/69868452cd804dbcb6cc99ee/160649256.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"160649256","caption":"Celebrity images, like this, are among the most pirated online.","creditText":"Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/15300/getty-provides-35-million-images-for-free/","name":"Getty Has Just Made 35 Million Images Available for You to Use Free"}}]}] ```