Imgur was created as a response to the usability problems and lack of file retention encountered in similar services.

Imgur used three different hosting providers in the first year before settling on Voxel, then switching to Amazon Web Services in late 2011.

[5] In 2016, Reddit introduced native image hosting, causing a notable decrease in Imgur submissions on the site.

[10] The move drew significant criticism, as removing archived images would compound the challenge of link rot that other photo services have also faced.

[14] On November 23, 2017, Imgur was notified of a potential security breach that had occurred in 2014 and affected the email addresses and passwords of 1.7 million user accounts.

On November 24, Imgur began notifying affected users via their registered email address to change their passwords.

In early 2015, it was announced all images will be kept forever (even if not added from a Pro account) and only removed if deletion is requested.

[17] In January 2015, Imgur allowed users to link video URLs to create GIFs directly through the website.

[21] Imgur's community members include former Mythbuster Adam Savage and Olympic athlete Cody Miller.