FAQ
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Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing rroyalty-free HD photos and stock images, new illustration vectors, high-quality videos, popular animated GIFs and best audio music that are free to download. All contents are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use without attribution - even for commercial purposes.
To upload photos, videos, music, illustrations, GIFs, sound-effects and vectors,, you need to be a registered user on Pixabay first. If you are not yet registered, you can sign up here. Once you have signed up you can upload any media by clicking the "upload” button in the top right corner of the page.
You can copy, modify, distribute, and use the Pixabay's royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, videos, music, GIFs, vectors and sound effects, even for commercial purposes. However, depicted content may still be protected by trademarks, publicity or privacy rights. Learn more about the Pixabay license.
Pixabay photos, illustrations, videos, music, animated GIFs, vectors and sound effects are free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes. However, depicted content may still be protected by trademarks, publicity or privacy rights. While no payment is needed to use the media, it is always appreciated when you credit the contributor as it provides exposure to their work and encourages them to continue sharing. While not required, we also allow users to make donations to contributors. Find out how below under Downloads and Donations.
To download any media (stock photos, illustrations, videos, music, animated GIFs, vectors and sound effects), go to the specific media page of the content that you want to download, then click the ‘Free Download' button. Choose the size and click ‘Download'. You will need to sign up to download full resolution photos and videos, you can sign up here.
Canva purchased Pixabay back in 2019. Since then, we've continued to operate as Pixabay and will continue to do so. This entity change is an organizational and administrative change only. It does not impact our brand or community.
License & Terms
Yes. When you download Pixabay content, you can use it in its original form (i.e., without altering it). The only exceptions are:
- Don't sell copies of content without meaningful alterations e.g. don't sell an exact copy of a stock photo as posters, prints, greeting cards, mugs, t-shirts or other similar items of merchandise .
- Don't redistribute or sell Pixabay as digital content or as digital wallpapers (such as on stock media websites or as NFTs)
You can find more details in our license.
The golden rule of thumb is to consider whether the product you are creating effectively amounts to reselling the original image and whether a reasonable person on the street would look side-by-side at the original image and your product and consider them to be identical (or effectively identical).
If you've made some creative effort to incorporate a photo into a broader design, this should generally be sufficient (see examples in the next question below). Applying a filter over a photo, minor cropping, or simply changing some colours will generally not be enough.
- Adding the photo to a video montage.
- Incorporation into a greater work (e.g. adding it to a book, app, game).
- Adding the photo to any work where the reason someone would buy it is because of what you have made, rather than the image.
Digitally printing images onto a canvas or wallpaper for sale is not allowed if there were no significant changes made to the image(s).
Yes, you can use the images in any way you want for personal use.
Yes – but only if they are significantly altered, as mentioned above.
Yes, you can use Pixabay images for your logo. However, you cannot claim ownership of any images on Pixabay, which means you cannot register your logo as a trademark. Kindly check our Terms of Service for further information.
We suggest removing things like logos, trademarks or any other features that may identify a particular brand, as those items are likely to be trademarked or protected in some way, and reproduction of those marks (especially in a commercial way) may result in legal implications.
Yes, in this case you are incorporating the media into a greater work. People would buy the book for the book itself (reading it) and not for the media you are using.
It is best to contact the artist and inquire about a model release if a person is recognisable.
Please note that the patent or trademark rights of any person are not affected by our license, so we encourage our users to always check whether they have all rights to use such content.
The general license applied to the content you upload to Pixabay means we're able to use this content for the development of responsible AI models and the creation of exciting new features. We believe that everything at Pixabay starts with our incredible community of contributors, and we want to ensure transparency around how your content is used in addition to the ability to opt-out of using your content for AI and machine learning.
By allowing us to use your content for AI and ML training, your content helps others by
- Responsible AI model training: By allowing us to use your content, you help improve responsible AI models. This contributes to a future where the leading AI models are the responsibly and ethically trained ones, made possible by contributors like you.
- Detecting AI-generated content: In addition to generative AI, we are working on systems that can detect if something is AI-generated or not to ensure authenticity as this technology continues to evolve. This requires a large & diverse set of non-AI and AI content to compare against.
- Improving diversity, representation, and safety: Your content helps contribute to AI models being more inclusive and representative of different cultures, races, and genders. Additionally, your participation helps in creating a safer community where we can detect and remove prohibited or illegal content.
If you would prefer we don't use your content for future training of our AI models, you can opt out by updating your preferences in your account settings by clicking here and ticking the "Opt out of AI training” box under Options.
Upload Guidelines
You are not allowed to upload media that have signatures, watermarks or are advertisement. This can be considered spamming and might lead to the closure of your account. You can also check our blog regarding upload guidelines for more information.
Pixabay is a free photo, illustration, video and music sharing website powered by our generous community of photographers, videographers, illustrators and musicians. While not required, users can make donations to artists to thank them for their contributions. Find out how under Downloads & Donations.
Uploads are declined if they do not meet our quality guidelines. Learn more.
It usually takes a few minutes for new media to show up in your profile. In rare cases, it may take a few days. If many uploads are missing, please check our forum (https://pixabay.com/forum/) for any outages or contact us.
An upload that is marked as "Published" only appears in your profile.
An upload that is marked as "Featured" appears in your profile and additionally also shows up in the Pixabay search.
We update play numbers once a day, so it will take up to 24 hours for you to see changes. Please create a post here if you are still having issues after 24 hours.
Downloads & Donations
Yes, you can use Pixabay (stock photos, illustrations, videos, music, animated GIFs, vectors and sound effects) on social media platforms.
You can donate by clicking the "Donate” button right after downloading any kind of media. Alternatively, you can donate by going to the user's profile and by clicking the green ‘Coffee' button alongside the ‘Message' and ‘Follow' buttons on the top right part of their profile page.
Currently, artists can only receive donations through PayPal. Please indicate your PayPal email address or Merchant ID through the settings page. The Merchant ID is a 13 digit code, which can be found on your PayPal account's settings page.
We only accept PayPal for donations to users.
You can use any of the options on this page for donations to Pixabay.
Account & Settings
Within ten (10) days of upload, you can delete the upload(s) by clicking the little (x) icon on the top right part of the media on the My Media page. You must be logged in to be able to do this. Otherwise, please contact us to proceed.
A link for this purpose is given on the settings page of your account.
API & Partnerships
Yes, we do have an API. Learn all about it in the API documentation
Community
You can find all guidelines on our blog.
Your profile allows you to create your own space on Pixabay. It will represent your portfolio and whatever you want to share with the community. Learn more about how to get the most out of your profile.
You can either ask your question on the forum or contact us directly.
Yes, anyone can contribute to the Pixabay forum here. Please check out our forum rules and communication guidelines.
Technical Questions
New users can only upload seven (7) uploads per seven (7) days. Find more info here.
Whilst you won't find any strong violence and/or highly explicit content on Pixabay, we do accept nude photography and other visual content that might be considered offensive to some users. In order to filter out these search results, you can make use of our SafeSearch filter. Learn more here.
Content Moderation
Pixabay employs a blend of automated tools and human moderators to identify and address content or behavior that violates our Terms of Service. This includes media, user comments, and forum discussions. Content that has been reported to us, or flagged as potentially violative by our automated systems, is reviewed by our team.
Upon detecting a violation, we take various actions, typically notifying the content owner via email. These actions may include:
- Content removal: Offending media is removed from the platform.
- Account suspension: Access to Pixabay may be temporarily or permanently suspended.
- Visibility restriction: Content may only be visible when Safe Search mode is deactivated.
Accounts primarily used to violate our Terms of Service or perpetuate serious harms are immediately permanently suspended. Repeated violations over time may also result in permanent suspension.
To report content, use Pixabay's in-product reporting feature . Hover over the media and click the flag icon at the top right corner to report a violation.
Alternatively you can use this form.
If you believe your content was incorrectly removed, restricted, or your account suspended, you can appeal by emailing info@pixabay.com within 180 days of receiving the decision. If you report content as violating EU law, you will also have the option to appeal our decision.
In your email, include the ID number from the original decision email, a reference to the content or account, and evidence supporting your appeal. Upon review, we'll notify you of the outcome. Successful appeals result in content or account restoration. For content reporters, successful appeals result in action being taken against the reported content or account.
For EU users, additional redress options are available, including challenges through out-of-court settlement or a competent court. Refer to our FAQ page 'Digital Services Act' for more information.