Announced on the Flickr blog in November 2018, the new login for Flickr (that doesn’t require a Yahoo account) is finally rolling out to Flickr users this month.
Can you hear the thunderous “Finally!” from Flickr users around the world?
I know I can, I’m one of them!
I’ve been a Flickr user since 2004 and I couldn’t wait to get rid of using a Yahoo account for log in.
SmugMug Purchases Flickr, Announces Changes
When SmugMug bought Flickr in spring 2018, there was a joyous whoop from long-time Flickr users.
Flickr had been ignored by Yahoo for years. Few features had been added and noone knew if, or when, it would close down.
A new owner, one that had a vested interest in photography, was a welcome relief to Flickr users.
And with the SmugMug purchase came a lot of questions about the future of Flickr. And the question asked most often by users:
When can we use a non-Yahoo account for login?
The response was quick from SmugMug:
We hear you. And we’re working on it.
We all waited patiently, hoping the change would come quickly.
It took a few months, but their announcement in November 2018 gave us hope that we could all finally get rid of our Yahoo accounts.
New Login Announced, Why Didn’t You Notify Users Directly?
On March 4, 2019, Flickr announced the rollout of the new login on their help forum as well as in a login freedom blog post and on their Twitter account.
WE HEARD YOU. Starting this week, we’re inviting the first batch of Flickr users to move off the Yahoo login and onto our brand new Flickr Login. Global rollout is underway! Thanks for joining us on the journey. Learn more → https://t.co/dihgppVq9Y
— Flickr (@Flickr) March 5, 2019
But Flickr didn’t send any notice to users via email or through a notice on Flickr accounts.
Which was disappointing for those of us who have been waiting for the login change to take place.
I noticed few news and technology organizations covered the announcement.
And few people, less than 200, shared it on their own Twitter feeds.
Where’s My New Login?
Flickr’s announcement said it would take a few weeks to roll out the new login to their millions of users, so I wasn’t sure when I would see it in my account.
When I logged into my Flickr account several times earlier this month, I didn’t see the banner announcing the login change.
But this week, I did!
I saw the banner announcing the new login was available to me at the top of my page when I logged into Flickr on desktop.
Note: their video and help forum post describe the banner at the bottom of the page.
How to Update Your Flickr Login
The process to update the login is straightforward.
-
- Log in to Flickr with your existing Yahoo email address and password
- If your account has the new login available, a banner message displays on the page (I found the banner at the top, but you might find it near the bottom of the page)
- Select the Update your login now link in the banner
- Select your preferred non-Yahoo account email and select Save. I had two email accounts listed for my Flickr account; the Yahoo account and my primary contact email address. I chose my primary email address.
- Set your Flickr password and select Save.
Thank you to Flickr for providing password requirements with the new password field. Few organizations pay attention to that detail.
That’s it!
A confirmation message displays that your Flickr login has been updated to use the non-Yahoo email account.
From now on, you’ll no longer need a Yahoo account to login to Flickr.
What You Need to Know
According to Flickr, you’re currently required to use either your Yahoo account or your primary contact email account for login.
In the future, you’ll have the option to change to a different email address.
Don’t have a primary contact email account on your Flickr account?
Here’s how to set up your primary contact address.
Note: the address you choose is the only email address for login and any correspondence Flickr sends.
Summary
Celebrate! Login freedom on Flickr is finally here with their new login option. I am so happy to finally get rid of that Yahoo email address.
