500px (pronounced "five hundred px") is a global online photo-sharing platform that is a subsidiary of Visual China Group. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2][3] It was co-founded by Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev on October 31, 2009.[4]
History
500px headquarters in Toronto
Evgeny Tchebotarev started 500px in 2003 on the social blogging website LiveJournal[5] as a hobby, while he completed a business degree at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University).[6] At the time, 500 pixels was considered a good size for web display[7] and was therefore the limit placed on photos submitted to the community for review.[6] 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.[5]
Tchebotarev joined forces with Oleg Gutsol and in early 2009,[6] 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.[5]
In 2009, the site had 1000 users, purely through word of mouth.[8] By late November 2012, the site had more than 1,500,000 users.[9]
500px's blog was named one of the best blogs of 2012, by Time magazine.[10]
In July 2015, the company raised $13 million in Series B funding[11] led by a strategic investor, the Visual China Group, and included participation from existing backers of the company.[12]
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 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]
Technology
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.[22] 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.[23] This results in the Popular page always displaying fresh content and motivates users to regularly upload new images.[24]
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]
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"[33] and "one of the cleanest in the industry"[34] alongside negative feedback that believes 500px may have put themselves at undue risk.[35]
On January 21, 2013, Apple removed 500px's iPad app from its store, citing concerns of nudity available via the app.[36] Apple restored the app on January 29, following the release of a new version with a "Mature 17+ rating" and a report button.[37]
