Google Photos direct link the honest way.
Google Photos share links resolve to an album page — not a raw image URL. Download the photo and re-host it here for a real permanent direct link.
3-step workflow
Download from Photos
Open the photo, tap the three-dot menu, choose Download. Or use Takeout for bulk.
Drop it here
Drag the downloaded file onto the uploader. Upload happens to a global CDN edge.
Copy the URL
You get a permanent, direct image URL — paste it in Markdown, HTML, forums, emails.
FAQ
Can I get a direct image URL from Google Photos?
Not officially. Google Photos share links resolve to an HTML album page, not a raw image. The 'lh3.googleusercontent.com' URLs that show up in DevTools are session-bound, can rotate, and aren't meant for embedding. To get a stable direct URL, re-host the image somewhere that provides one.
Why doesn't Google give me a direct link?
Google Photos is a personal library, not a CDN. The share page is designed for humans, not img-src embedding. It also avoids hotlinking abuse — without wrapping in an album, anyone with the URL could burn your bandwidth.
What's the workaround?
Download the photo from Google Photos (three-dot menu → Download), then upload it here. You get a real, permanent direct URL on a global CDN — suitable for blogs, forum posts, Markdown files, and emails.
Is there a way to extract all photos from a shared album at once?
Use Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) to export the whole library or an album as a ZIP. Then bulk-upload the extracted photos here. Takeout preserves originals without recompression.
Why do googleusercontent.com URLs break?
Those URLs carry short-lived signed tokens. They work while the share session is active but can rotate or expire silently. Embedding them is a common cause of broken images on old forum posts.
Does the re-hosted image preserve EXIF?
Yes, uploads keep original EXIF by default. If you'd rather strip it for privacy, run it through the image compressor first — canvas re-encoding drops metadata.
Is there a size limit?
10 MB per upload on the free plan, 50 MB on Business. Google Photos originals usually fit.
What about Google Drive image links?
Same problem — Drive links resolve to preview HTML. The drive.google.com/uc?id= trick sometimes works as a direct link but is unreliable and often rate-limited. Re-hosting is the stable answer.