Help / FAQ / Yahoo! IDs, signing in and screen names

I still sign in via the "Old Skool" log in page. Can I do that forever?

No. On March 20th, 2007 we discontinued the old email-based Flickr sign in system. From now on, everyone will have to use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr. So, you'll need to join your old skool Flickr account to a Yahoo! ID - this can be a Yahoo! account you have already, or a brand new one.

If you still sign in at the Flickr sign in page, you should Merge Your Accounts page. (You'll need to be signed in to Flickr before you start.)

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What changes when I merge?

Hardly anything!

• You can continue to use whatever email address you like for FlickrMail and notifications.
• You don't have to use a Yahoo! Mail account.
• You don't have to change your screen name or buddy icon.
• This doesn't affect anything other than the username and password you supply when signing in: most Flickr users use Yahoo! IDs and everything works the same way.
• This doesn't have any longer term implications for where Flickr is going: it just simplifies the process of developing new features, specifically for rolling out in multiple languages.

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Do I have to have a Yahoo! account to sign up for Flickr?

Yes. When you sign up for a new Flickr account, you'll need to sign in with your Yahoo! ID. If you don't have a Yahoo! account, you can create a new one by clicking the "Sign Up" link Yahoo! sign in page.

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How do my Flickr notification preferences change after I merge my account with Yahoo!?

None of your Flickr-related preferences have changed.

You can associate as many email addresses with your Flickr account as you want (here). Any communication from Flickr will continue to be sent to the address you set as your primary email address, be it Yahoo!, gmail, your work account, or even aol.

You can change the way Flickr emails you here. Your marketing preferences for FlickrMail and your Yahoo! account will not be changed.

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What will happen to my pictures? Will they be merged with Yahoo! Photos?

No changes will be made to how your photos are handled at Flickr. They will remain in your Flickr account. They will not automatically be added to your Yahoo! Photos account. Nor will pictures from your Yahoo! Photos account be automatically added to your Flickr account.

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What if my Yahoo! ID happens to be the same as my Flickr "screen name"?

When you sign up for a Yahoo! account, you're assigned a Yahoo! ID. This is a permanent, unique identifier for your account. There is no connection between a Yahoo! ID (the bit before the @ in the Yahoo! email address), and a Flickr screen name.

Just like your screen name on Flickr and your legal name in everyday life don't have to be the same, your Yahoo! ID could be the same as your Flickr screen name, or it could be different. Merging your accounts has no effect on your Flickr screen name.

You can use your Yahoo! ID as your Flickr screen name if you like, but you can create a screen name that has spaces in it. So, that's nice.

Note: If your Yahoo! ID and your Flickr screen name happen to be the same, you still need to go through the manual process of merging these accounts into one.

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What if someone is using my Flickr screen name as their Yahoo! ID?

If your screen name is already taken as a Yahoo! ID, it doesn't matter. You can still keep your screen name on Flickr. Just choose something else for your Yahoo! ID.

You can change your Flickr screen name as often as you want.

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I'm going to delete my Yahoo! account. What happens to my Flickr photos?

If you sign in to Flickr with a Yahoo! ID and you then delete your Yahoo! account, you will not be able to sign in to your Flickr account. In the future, this will delete your Flickr account as well, including all of your photos, but currently your Flickr account must be deleted separately.

If you want to keep using your Flickr account, make sure to switch your Flickr account over to a different Yahoo! ID first. You can switch Yahoo! IDs from the Your Account page: Use a different Yahoo! ID for this Flickr account.

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I've forgotten my password!

No problemo!

If you mean your password into Yahoo!, you can get a new one here.

If you are still using your flickr.com account to sign in, you can get yourself a new password here. (This link only works if you're not logged in - because you've forgotten your password. If you want to change your Flickr password, go here.)

Note: As mentioned above, signing in with the old email-based Flickr method was discontinued on March 20, 2007.

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It doesn't seem to 'remember me' each time. What's up with that?

To protect your Yahoo! ID from misuse, Yahoo! automatically signs you off after a certain number of hours. You can modify this preference in your Yahoo! preferences.

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How do I merge my Yahoo! account with my Flickr one?

If you don't sign in with a Yahoo! ID yet, head for the Merge page to get started. Basically, you have to sign in to the Yahoo! account you'd like to use (existing or new), then confirm that that's the one you'd like to associate your Flickr account with.

After you merge the accounts, there are a couple of things to bear in mind:

• From then on, you must always sign in with your Yahoo! ID.
• Some applications that you downloaded that relate to Flickr (such as our Uploaders) might not work anymore. If that's the case for you, download a new version from the Tools page (or contact the developer of the application you're using for an update).

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What if I have two Flickr accounts?

Your Flickr accounts will be treated separately as they are now.

You can choose to associate one, both, or neither with a Yahoo! ID, but each Flickr account must be merged with a different Yahoo! ID.

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If I lose access to my Yahoo! account or my account is deactivated, will I be able to sign in to my Flickr account?

If you use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr, you need to have access to that Yahoo! ID in order to get in to Flickr. If you lose access to that account, we may still be able to help you get back in to Flickr. In the case of persistent problems with your Yahoo! ID, you may be able to switch your account to be associated with a different Yahoo! ID (see this question).

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Can I transfer my Flickr account between two Yahoo! IDs?

Yes. Head for the Transfer page to begin.

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