AOL Pictures online photo service is shutting down today on December 31, 2008 at midnight. However, they have partnered with American Greetings PhotoWorks to enable continued access to your pictures.
Currently AOL pictures users are offered 3 options –
1. Download pictures to your computer
2. Buy a DVD archive of your pictures
3. Transfer your pictures and albums to American Greetings PhotoWorks (Now part of Shutterfly)
PhotoWorks! is a leading online personal publishing company and photography community acquired by AG Interactive, media subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation, in 2008. It allows users to share and store their digital photos, host personalized Web pages and Storefronts, build communities and use their digital images to create quality photo-personalized products.
If you host your images on AOL pictures, you must hurry as the online photo site will be permanently closed and you will not be able to access your photos through AOL Pictures any more. After this date, you will no longer be able to buy a DVD archive or download images to your computer from AOL Pictures also. Hurry.
However, a quick look at the FAQ reveals that if you miss the December 31, 2008 deadline to retrieve your photos from AOL Pictures, they will still be available through American Greetings PhotoWorks. You need to register a American Greetings PhotoWorks account and confirm your AOL Pictures user ID and password before June 30, 2009. After that images will no longer be accessible either through AOL Pictures or American Greetings PhotoWorks.