# imageupload.io - Complete Product Reference

## Product Overview
imageupload.io is a privacy-first image hosting service with a REST API and MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI agents. Upload images and get direct hotlinkable URLs in under a second. Every upload automatically strips EXIF metadata (GPS, device info, timestamps) before storage.

## Privacy Features
- Self-destructing links (burn-after-reading): image permanently deleted after first view
- Password protection: viewers must enter a password to see the image
- View limits: image auto-deletes after N unique viewers (1-999)
- Time-based expiration: 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, or no expiration
- Custom date expiration: set a specific date/time (Pro and Business plans)
- Automatic EXIF/IPTC/XMP metadata stripping on every upload
- No tracking pixels on share pages
- GDPR compliant with consent-gated analytics

## Plans and Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Storage | API Uploads/mo | Max File | Custom Links | Analytics |
|------|---------|--------|---------|----------------|----------|-------------|-----------|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 500 MB | 10 | 25 MB | No | No |
| Starter | $5 | $50 | 5 GB | 50 | 25 MB | No | Basic |
| Pro | $12 | $120 | 50 GB | Unlimited | 50 MB | Yes | Full |
| Business | $29 | $290 | 500 GB | Unlimited | 100 MB | Yes | Full |

All paid plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee and 7-day free trial.

## REST API
Endpoint: POST https://imageupload.io/api/upload
Auth: Bearer token (API key from dashboard)
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
Fields: file (required), expiration (1d|1w|1mo|3mo|burn|views|forever|custom), password, custom_slug, folder, view_limit
Response: JSON with slug, share_url, direct_url, embed codes (HTML, BBCode, Markdown)

## MCP Server
Package: @imageupload/mcp (npm)
Install: npx -y @imageupload/mcp
Config for Claude Desktop / Windsurf / Cursor:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "imageupload": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@imageupload/mcp"],
      "env": { "IMAGEUPLOAD_API_KEY": "iu_live_YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools (7):
1. upload_image - upload from local file path or base64, returns share + direct URLs
2. list_images - paginated list of user's images with metadata
3. get_image - get metadata for one image by slug
4. delete_image - permanently delete an image by slug
5. list_folders - list folders with image counts
6. create_folder - create a new folder
7. get_quota - check monthly API upload quota and plan

## Supported Formats
PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, AVIF

## Technology
- Backend: Node.js + Fastify, SQLite (WAL mode), sharp (libvips) for image processing
- Storage: Cloudflare R2 with CDN delivery
- CDN: Cloudflare with edge caching
- Security: scrypt password hashing, TOTP 2FA, Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA, CSP headers
- Payments: Paddle (Merchant of Record)

## Links
- Homepage: https://imageupload.io
- API & MCP Docs: https://imageupload.io/docs
- Image upload API guide: https://imageupload.io/image-upload-api
- Free image hosting: https://imageupload.io/free-image-hosting
- Temporary image hosting: https://imageupload.io/temporary-image-hosting
- Anonymous image hosting: https://imageupload.io/anonymous-image-hosting
- EXIF metadata checker: https://imageupload.io/tools/exif-remover
- Trust and security: https://imageupload.io/trust
- Public API and MCP examples: https://github.com/imageupload-io/imageupload-examples
- Pricing: https://imageupload.io/pricing
- Blog: https://imageupload.io/blog
- Privacy Policy: https://imageupload.io/privacy
- Terms of Service: https://imageupload.io/terms
- Contact: https://imageupload.io/contact
- npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@imageupload/mcp