Frquently Asked Questions

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• 1. What is Swiss Picture Bank?
  Swiss Picture Bank is the safest place for your pictures. It is the first service designed to keep your pictures safe, organized and accessible for generations to come. Every photo uploaded to your account is copied, secured on redundant storage systems in multiple locations throughout Switzerland (including a Swiss bank vault and an army bunker built to withstand nuclear attack) and backed by the Picture Guarantee Foundation (PGF), a not-for-profit Swiss foundation established to independently ensure the long-term continuity of pictures.
• 2. How is Swiss Picture Bank different from online storage and backup services?
  • We provide true long-term security for your memories. Swiss Picture Bank is the only site that offers service plans from 30 years to 99 years. Every other site is month-to-month or year-to-year.
  • Swiss Picture Bank is the only site that doesn't reserve the right to terminate your account at will. Every other service can simply end your membership at any time, for any reason!
  • We guarantee our service. If we don't fulfill our promise of 30 years, we'll pay you 30x your money back.
  • You pay once per picture - there are no recurring fees.
  • We preserve your photos in data centers operated by Swisscom IT Services, the leading provider of IT infrastructure to Swiss banks.
  • Swiss Picture Bank uses "green" storage powered by energy supplies that are 98% carbon free.
• 3. How can I open a Swiss Picture Bank account?
  All that is required to open a Swiss Picture Bank account is your name and email address. Open an account by clicking on the Open Account button on this, or any other, page.
• 4. How can I upload pictures into Swiss Picture Bank?

  You may upload pictures to Swiss Picture Bank by logging in to your account and pressing the Upload Pictrues button to select files from your computer.

  You may also upload pictures using Swiss Picture Bank Direct Deposit software. Login to your account, press the Upload Pictures button and then click on the Install Direct Deposit button. Direct Deposit requires you to install Adobe® Air. If Adobe® Air is not installed on your computer, you will be automatically prompted to install it; otherwise you may go to: http://get.adobe.com/air.

  Once you have installed Swiss Picture Bank Direct Deposit software, drag and drop pictures onto the Direct Deposit shortcut to upload to your account.
• 5. Can I upload folders?
  You may upload folders of pictures using Swiss Picture Bank Direct Deposit software. Drag a folder onto the Direct Deposit shortcut to begin. Swiss Pictrue Bank Direct Deposit software does not support subfolders.
• 6. How much does a Swiss Picture Bank account cost?

  We use a very simple credit system. Every time you deposit a picture in your account you spend credits. The number you spend depends on the security plan you choose for that picture. There are two plans to choose from:

  Snapshot: Pictures resized to 1600x1200 pixels, suitable for viewing full screen and for making large format prints.
          30 Years - 1 credit per picture
          99 Years - 2 credits per picture
  Pro: Original resolution. Recommended for professionals.
          30 Years - 2 credits per megabyte
          99 Years - 4 credits per megabyte

  Credits cost only 3 cents each and we offer free additional credits with larger purchases. If you would like to purchase credits, go to the Swiss Picture Bank store.
• 7. How do credits work?
  When you open an account at Swiss Picture Bank, you purchase a minimum number of credits to establish a balance. When your balance falls to zero, you must buy more credits in order to keep uploading pictures. Credits are valid for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase.
• 8. What file formats are supported?
  The Snapshot plan is for Jpeg file types only. The Pro plan accepts Jpegs and Tiffs.
• 9. How are pictures organized in my account?
  Your pictures are all available in your library. Your library is sorted by the date the picture was taken. You may also sort the contents of your library by date uploaded, and alphabetically.
• 10. How can I organize my pictures in my account?

  You may organize your pictures by selecting files from your library and grouping them as an album. Press the Create Album button and drag pictures into the selection panel. Once you have completed your selection, press the Create Album button in the selection panel to give your album a name and a description.

  To view your albums, press the View Albums button.
• 11. How can I share pictures from my account?
  You may share albums from your Swiss Picture Bank account. Create an album with pictures you would like to share. Press the View Albums button and select the album you would like to share. Enter the email address of the people you would like to share your pictures with and create a personal message. Press the Send button to send an email invitation to your contacts.
• 12. How can I print pictures from my account?
  Press the Order Prints button to select the pictures you would like to print. To select pictures to print, drag them to the selection panel and press the Order Prints button. Select your preferred print provider from a list of approved printers and press Place Order. Your pictures will be sent to the print provider of your choice.
• 13. How can I download pictures from my account?
  Select a picture to download and press the Download button.
• 14. What is the Picture Guarantee Foundation?
  The Picture Guarantee Foundation (or "PGF") is a not-for-profit Swiss foundation established to independently ensure the long-term continuity of pictures. The PGF reserves the resources necessary to preserve every picture you upload for the time period you purchase and then pays them out to the company hosting your pictures over time as they come due. If the original company hosting your pictures is no longer able to continue to provide that service, the PGF will contract a replacement or, as a last resort, will take over the hosting systems itself.
• 15. How does the guarantee work?
  You will receive a deposit receipt for every picture stored in your account. Any picture listed in a deposit receipt is subject to the Swiss Picture Bank Guarantee. If you believe that a picture is missing, you should contact us and inform us of its absence. We will search our log or all pictures confirmed in your account and if we determine that your picture is in fact missing, we will attempt to retrieve it from our multiple redundant backup systems. If, after this effort, we are still unable to restore your picture, we commit to pay you a cash award equal to 30x the value of the credit balance you expended to store it in your account. For more information, please review our Terms of Service.
• 16. What is Swisscom?
  Swisscom is the largest telecomm company in Switzerland and one of the country's premier information technology services companies. Swisscom IT Services is a leading provider to the telecommunications, healthcare and media industries as well as the Swiss government. It is also the leading outsourced provider of IT services to Swiss banks. For more information, please visit www.swisscom.com/it.
• 17. What is the Hitachi Content Archive Platform?
  The Hitachi Content Archive Platform is a state-of-the-art secure storage system, specifically designed for long term preservation of data. The HCAP is a Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM) system that preserves data such that it cannot be deleted, altered or overwritten. For more information, please visit www.hds.com/products/storage-systems/content-archive-platform.

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