StockSnap's CC0 License

The right images are so important on the web. They can really mean the difference between blah and buzzworthy pages, ads, sites, and more. However, finding the right image for your work is just the beginning. You also need to make sure you have permission to use that image the way you need to - and that's where it can get tricky.

Here at StockSnap, we want to make it as easy and simple as possible for you to find, share, and use amazing photographic imagery for all your creative projects.

Whether you're crafting a personal blog to explore your passions or building a complex corporate site for your business, you know you'll need striking, beautiful, on-point images. And ideally, you'll need the freedom to copy, edit, modify, and distribute those images in a variety of formats and purposes - including business-related ones.

That's why every single image on StockSnap are governed exclusively by the generous terms of the Creative Commons CC0 license.


Creative Commons vs. Traditional Copyright Licenses

Image creators and publishers alike need flexibility when dealing with image files. Yet traditional copyright law requires a fairly technical, precise, and (some say) overly complicated approach.

It's an approach that often requires lengthy negotiations and even the expense of a lawyer's services - and that's just for the preliminary agreement. If the creator and the publisher develop a conflict, resolving it can mean extremely costly litigation or arbitration.

Creative Commons licenses are a much better and simpler way for image photographers and creators to assign specific rights and restrictions to their work and ultimately to those who download and use their image files.


The Creative Commons CC0 License

The Creative Commons license that StockSnap uses is the CC0 license. Specifically, that license means you can do any and all of the following:

  • Download the image file
  • Publish, revise, copy, alter, and share that image
  • Use the image (as-is or as you've altered it), in both personal and commercial contexts

Moreover, you can put StockSnap CC0 images to any of these usages without buying the right to do it, acquiring written permission from the image's creator, or attributing the work to the image creator.

In other words, there's no fee to download or use these StockSnap images in accordance with the CC0 license. They're free to download, free to edit, and free to use - even in a commercial project!

You don't even need to attribute the image to the creator, the way you do with other CC or traditional copyright licensing schemes. (However, even though it's not required, we here at StockSnap do encourage you to include an appropriate attribution. It's a nice thing to do.)


What Can't You Do With This License?

So what's not allowed with the CC0 license and StockSnap images?

For one thing, you cannot use these images to imply any kind of endorsement on the part of the image creator or any person or product depicted in the image. So, you can't imply or state that the very attractive person depicted in your image thinks your brand is the best thing ever. You can't pass the image or the photographer as a direct stamp of approval for you, your company, or your products or services.

Finally, you cannot sue or claim any kind of liability against the person who created the image on any kind of theory of warranty or guarantee in the image. All such warranties and liabilities are explicitly disclaimed to the fullest extent allowed by any applicable laws.


This Is Just a Summary

Please keep in mind that this page and its content isn't the actual license. It's just a summary that helps you understand in plain, non-legalese terms what sorts of things you can and can't do with the images offered for download and use here on StockSnap.

If you'd like to read more about the Creative Commons CC0 licensing terms, or want to read the actual license itself, please refer to the full license description here.


Problem? Question? Let Us Know

One last caveat: While we do try to review each image before adding it to our collection here on the StockSnap site, mistakes can happen.

If you see anything depicted in our images that shouldn't be there due to intellectual property rights or privacy rights violations, please get in contact with us immediately. Include in your email the URL for the image page in question along with any other data that can help us investigate and address the issue properly.