Show HN: Horizon – Private alternative to Imgur
A new ad‑free file hosting service, Horizon, is pitched as a privacy‑focused alternative to Imgur, offering encrypted storage, generous free and low‑cost paid tiers, desktop integrations, and features like ShareX support and custom domains. Commenters praise the polish, UX, and responsiveness of its 17‑year‑old creator, but question the long‑term economics of cheap storage and unlimited bandwidth, comparing it to cloud storage and past image hosts that had to add ads or shut down. A major concern centers on abuse and CSAM liability: Horizon avoids proactive content scanning in the name of privacy and relies on user reports, which several observers warn is risky for a private hosting model and may become untenable as it scales.
Product & Core Features
- Horizon is presented as a privacy-focused alternative to Imgur for hosting and sharing images, videos, files, and pastes.
- Supports browser uploads, a macOS and Linux (AppImage) desktop app, and ShareX integration; Windows app is not yet available.
- Features include link sharing, optional custom domains on the paid plan, pastes (including end-to-end encrypted ones), and video streaming for supported formats (e.g., MP4).
UX & Feature Feedback
- Early users praise the clean design, attention to detail, and ease of use.
- Reported issues: slow dashboard updates, missing/slow thumbnails, awkward dropdown behavior, pagination oddities, and upload errors on many parallel video uploads.
- Requested features: select-all, list view vs grid, better move/delete UX, drag-and-drop and clipboard paste uploads (some of which were quickly implemented).
Pricing, Sustainability & Viability
- Free tier: 500MB with generous bandwidth; paid “Everest” plan: ~100GB for a low monthly price.
- Some consider the free plan very generous; others see the paid plan as expensive compared with general cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, MEGA).
- Debate on whether image/file hosting is a viable business at all; some say it inevitably trends to ads or shutdown, others argue careful limits and pricing can work.
- The creator claims the model is already profitable and has been iterated over several years.
Privacy, Security & Encryption
- All files are encrypted at rest by the service; an optional extra “Encryption” layer uses user-held keys the service does not store.
- Some question marketing encryption while having stronger options off by default and note that if the service controls keys, it’s only “so private.”
- Requests for independent security review, clearer communication, and possibly certifications.
Content Moderation & Legal Risk (CSAM, Abuse)
- Service currently does not proactively scan files, citing privacy concerns, and relies on user reports.
- Multiple commenters strongly warn this is legally and practically risky, especially for private links and a free tier with minimal signup friction.
- Experiences from other hosts: rapid influx of CSAM and other abuse, legal/hosting-provider pressure, and psychological burden of manual review.
- Consensus from many: a purely report-based model for private hosting is likely untenable; legality must trump privacy here.
Infrastructure, Performance & Terms
- Uses Cloudflare in front and Backblaze B2 in the EU for storage; this causes higher latency for some non-EU users.
- Some suggest Cloudflare caching; others point out Cloudflare’s terms restrict using the free/standard CDN for image-heavy origins without paid products (R2/Images).
- Bandwidth costs are debated; some say commodity servers make it affordable, others highlight cloud egress costs.
Positioning vs Competitors
- Comparisons to Imgur, Gyazo, Streamable, MEGA, and generic cloud storage.
- Tension between marketing it as an “Imgur alternative” (social/meme sharing) vs what it resembles in practice (personal file host/screenshot tool).
- Some argue competitors offer more storage or enterprise features; others value Horizon’s simplicity, lack of ads, and focus on frictionless sharing.