Flickr doesn't appear to be doing so well.

SmugMug, a photo-hosting service that purchased Flickr from Yahoo two years ago, is asking people to purchase Flickr's Pro subscription to help “keep the Flickr dream alive", according to The Verge and TechCrunch, both of which shared a recently circulated email to Flickr users, written by SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill. In the note, he pleaded for subscribers, calling Flickr “the world’s most-beloved, money-losing business".

He said that revenue from Flickr Pro “goes directly to keeping Flickr alive and creating great new experiences for photographers".

Last year, SmugMug started focusing on Flickr Pro by ending the terabyte of free storage that Flickr had offered to users for years, limiting them to just 1,000 photo uploads per user. “We didn’t buy Flickr because we thought it was a cash cow. Unlike platforms like Facebook, we also didn’t buy it to invade your privacy and sell your data. We bought it because we love photographers, we love photography...," explained MacAskill

He added: "But we cannot continue to operate it at a loss as we’ve been doing.”

Flickr Pro costs about $50 annually. To make the plan more attractive to new subscribers, SmugMug is now offering 25 per cent off Flickr Pro for those who visit this link and use the code 25in2019. This promotion is available now and gets you the subscription for roughly $3 a month.

"If you value Flickr finally being independent, built for photographers and by photographers," MacAskill said, "we need your help."