Photo-sharing site protects copyright and tracks views

Videos, sounds and documents have long been easy to share on the internet thanks to the likes of YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Scribd and others. Sharing pictures legally, however, hasn’t been so easy. That’s where Picuous comes in, with a site that enables users to share their pictures while protecting copyright and even tracking details about who has viewed them. Now in beta, Paris-based Picuous bills itself as a “friendly and simple way for your pictures to spread on the web.” Pictures are displayed in a Vimeo-like player that allows others to use, share and like them completely legally while preventing people from copying and pasting or downloading them. Fans of a particular picture can simply embed it on the site of their choice, and it will retain its links back to the owner and his or her website. Picture owners, in turn, can use Picuous to track views, embeds and likes for every picture as well as detailed statistics such as where pictures have been embedded. Picuous is free to all users during its beta period; after its official launch it will operate on a freemium model, with limits on picture sizes and numbers for those using the free version of the site. It’s a collaborative world out there, and legal sharing capabilities have become essential across all media. Help make it possible, and you could soon see the benefits of a little “sharing” yourself! (Related: Easy photo sales, directly from anyone’s blog.) Website: The site www.picuous.com has now been closed Spotted by: Olivier Desmoulin