Image hosting for Stack Overflow screenshots that stay linked.
Stack Overflow hosts pasted screenshots via imgur.com by default — and Imgur's 2023 inactivity purge has started breaking old Q&A screenshots. Host your repro images on a permanent CDN instead.
Upload an image →Why hosting matters on Stack Overflow
The Imgur purge hit Stack Overflow hard
Since 2023, thousands of SO questions have broken screenshots. Host on ImageToURL — no purge — and your answer stays usable for years.
Direct Markdown embed
SO's Markdown syntax is . Paste an ImageToURL URL directly; it renders inline, full-quality, no re-hosting.
Error dialogs
Stack trace screenshots, compiler errors, console output — often the heart of the question. A broken image makes the question un-answerable later.
Diagrams & architecture
Mermaid, Excalidraw, or draw.io exports referenced from multiple answers you've given benefit from central hosting.
How to embed
Screenshot + upload
Shift+Cmd+4 (macOS) or Snipping Tool (Win), drop the PNG here — get a URL.
Paste into SO's answer box
Use Markdown: . Or click the image icon in the toolbar and pick 'Image from URL'.
Preview to verify
Stack Overflow's preview renders the image inline. If it doesn't load, double-check the URL protocol is https.
FAQ
Why not just use Stack Overflow's built-in image upload?
SO's built-in upload goes to i.stack.imgur.com — which is still Imgur. Your image is subject to Imgur's content policies and inactivity rules. ImageToURL gives you an independent, permanent URL.
Are my screenshots really private until I paste the URL?
The URL is unlisted — not indexed by our site and not browsable through any gallery. But anyone with the URL can fetch it. Treat the URL as 'share with care' rather than 'secret'.
Does SO strip EXIF?
SO's own image upload does. ImageToURL keeps EXIF by default on uploads. For privacy, run through the image compressor first — canvas re-encoding strips metadata.
Can I embed GIFs to show repro behavior?
Yes —  renders an animated GIF in SO answers. Great for showing a UI bug.
Max file size?
SO Markdown has no hard cap. ImageToURL: 10 MB free / 50 MB Business. Most screenshots are 50–300 KB so the free tier covers it.
What about meta.stackoverflow, stackexchange network sites?
All Stack Exchange sites use the same Markdown. Same external URL works in Server Fault, Super User, Mathematics SE, etc.
Can I delete my image later?
Yes — log in, open the upload in your dashboard, click Delete. The URL will return 404, breaking the embed. Use this cautiously on old, well-read answers.
Does this affect answer reputation or vote scoring?
No. Image host has no bearing on voting or reputation. Answer quality does — an image that loads is worth more votes than a broken one.