500px

500px headquarters in Toronto

Evgeny Tchebotarev started 500px in 2003 on the social blogging website LiveJournal[6] as a hobby, while he completed a business degree at Ryerson University.[7] Back then, 500 pixels was considered a good size for web display[8] and was therefore the limit placed on photos submitted to the community for review.[7] Once photographers submitted their photos, they were moderated, and only those of high quality would make it past the community's curators and be published on the site.[6]

Tchebotarev joined forces with Oleg Gutsol and in early 2009[7] they began work on the mostly automated incarnation of 500px. Image size grew to 900 pixels but the name remained. The two launched the official site on October 31, 2009.[6]

In 2009, the site had 1000 users, purely through word of mouth.[9] By late November 2012, the site had more than 1,500,000 users.[10]

500px's blog was named one of the best blogs of 2012, by Time magazine.[11]

In July 2015, the company raised $13 million in Series B funding[12] led by a strategic investor, the Visual China Group, and included participation from existing backers of the company.

In August 2015, the company launched a new version of its iOS app.[13]

In November 2016, the company launched 500px Studio, which allows brands to access custom and on-demand photography from 500px's photographers after their launch of a global photographer directory.[14]

In August 2017, 500px announced support for wide-gamut images.[15]

In November 2017, 500px was the recipient of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 award, which recognizes Canadian companies for their innovation, rapid revenue growth, and entrepreneurial spirit.[16]

On February 26, 2018, 500px was acquired by Visual China Group.[17]

On July 1, 2018, Getty Images became 500px's exclusive distribution partner for licensing outside China, as per its existing agreements with VCG.[18] As a result, 500px Marketplace was shut down on June 30, 2018. The service also discontinued support for publicly-licensed images (such as Creative Commons), citing that the function was underused.[19]

On July 5, 2018, 14.8 million accounts had "partial user data" (including e-mails, personal information, and hashed passwords) leaked via security breaches. 500px reported the breach in February 2019.[20]

500px has an algorithm in place to evaluate recently uploaded photos that takes views, likes and comments into account and results in a photo's rating or 'Pulse'.[21] The higher the Pulse, the more likely a photo is to reach the site's Popular page, giving it a higher chance of being seen by other users. The algorithm allows all users, not just those with a following, a chance to get their work to the front page of the Popular photos, increasing exposure.[22] This results in the Popular page always displaying fresh content and motivates users to regularly upload new images.[23]

Each user also has an overall rating titled 'Affection'. Taking into account the likes and favorites they have received across all photos, it is a reliable indication of how popular a photographer is within the community.[21]

Apps for iPhone,[24][25] iPad,[26] Android,[27][28] were also made for the site. Versions for Windows Phone 8[29] and Windows 8[30] were shutdown by the end of April 2015.[31]

On April 12, 2012, 500px's Terms of Service rose to the top of popular site Hacker News, garnering attention for legalese on the left-hand side of the page and summing up the legalese into basic points on the right-hand side. The resulting discussion on the Terms was mixed, with positive feedback such as 'awesome'[32] and 'one of the cleanest in the industry'[33] alongside negative feedback that believes 500px may have put themselves at undue risk.[34]

On January 21, 2013, Apple removed 500px's iPad app from its store, citing concerns of nudity available via the app.[35] Apple restored the app on January 29, following the release of a new version with a "Mature 17+ rating" and a report button.[36]

• List of photo sharing websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 500px.

• Official website