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Comment by finnn | Hacker News Reader

No, you get a link that looks like a direct link (eg https://i.imgur.com/whatever.png) but it's not (always) a direct link. This is what people are complaining about. Sending that link to people sometimes results in them getting redirected to the ad-laden imgur page.

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The "direct links" only ever redirect to the non-direct version on mobile for me. Doesn't happen on desktop though.

I've seen the direct links get redirected to the non-direct page on desktop.

It appears to still happen if, e.g., the link is on Twitter - random example https://twitter.com/SilentRENE/status/735732252877819904 (seems to be inconsistent - first time I was redirected, but now it goes directly to the image. Opening the Twitter page in another browser also resulted in a redirect)

I think they redirect to imgur page also when they are shared on facebook.

And aside from that, years back, they've been banning embedding on certain domains.

It depends if the referrer header is set to reddit. Try clicking a direct link from facebook or twitter.

I get redirected to the shitty ad page even on my desktop now.

Like I said, that hasn't happened to me ever in the couple of years that I've used that method. The people I send links to would complain. I do believe you though—sounds like something they'd do.

probably they only do it IFF the image receives a sustained rate of visualizations? That would explain why it didn't happen to you (nor me) for "simple" usage.

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