Unspalsh terms and this extension

[dmitryd]

Do I understand correctly that using this extension will copy images from Unspash to the current TYPO3 instance? At least it seems so from the code in the base extension.

Unspash says:

Hotlinking
Unlike most APIs, we require the image URLs returned by the API to be directly used or embedded in your applications (generally referred to as hotlinking). By using our CDN and embedding the photo URLs in your application, we can better track photo views and pass those stats on to the photographer, providing them with context for how popular their photo is and how it’s being used.

If the image is downloaded, can it be actually be used without violating their requirements?

[JulienHenchoz]

Hello Dmitry,
You are right, images are downloaded to the local instance.
We were basing this behaviour on the Unsplash license, mentioning :

All photos can be downloaded and used for free
Commercial and non-commercial purposes

This suggests that pictures can be downloaded to local instances in accordance with the Unsplash license.

You are right though that the API guidelines mention that images fetched through the API should be hotlinked.

I've dug a little further in the API terms, and my understanding is that they need to be notified every time a new use of the image is made from their API.

[...] Each time there is a download of a Photo or other comparable event (e.g., setting a Photo as background wallpaper) in your Developer Apps, you must provide us notice of the event in accordance with the API Guidelines. [...] Unsplash may track user views, downloads, searches and likes of Photos within your Developer Apps via the image URLs

Technically searches and downloads are tracked by Unsplash so they are notified whenever an image is used on a website using the extension. They are indeed not notified for every page view on pages that embed the actual image though... But even with hotlinking, the issue would be the same if he website uses any kind of CDN, as the image would be cached and not directly queried from Unsplash.
Not sure if our use case would be considered a breach!

I will reach out to them and explain our use case to get a feedback.

[dmitryd]

Thank you! 🙇 I'll wait for the answer.

[JulienHenchoz]

Quick follow up : I've exposed the geneal behaviour of the extension to the Unsplash support and asked if it was in compliance with their API terms, and they came back to me with an answer way besides the point :

Thanks for reaching out and for your interest in the Unsplash API!
Applications should not require users to register for a developer account with the Unsplash API to use the application. If needed, the developer can build a proxy that signs requests on behalf of your users, allowing them to all share a single API key, or reach out to our team for an OAuth solution.

No mention of the downloads issue. I've replied asking for a more precise answer, but no news since 2 weeks ago.
To be continued!

[dmitryd]

@JulienHenchoz Thank you. Let's see what they say.

[wapp-its]

Quick follow up : I've exposed the geneal behaviour of the extension to the Unsplash support and asked if it was in compliance with their API terms, and they came back to me with an answer way besides the point :

Thanks for reaching out and for your interest in the Unsplash API!
Applications should not require users to register for a developer account with the Unsplash API to use the application. If needed, the developer can build a proxy that signs requests on behalf of your users, allowing them to all share a single API key, or reach out to our team for an OAuth solution.

No mention of the downloads issue. I've replied asking for a more precise answer, but no news since 2 weeks ago. To be continued!

Any updates on this?

[wapp-its]

@JulienHenchoz Ping 🙏