New SmugIslands gives users control over access to photos

Palo Alto, Calif.-May 29, 2007-SmugMug (www.SmugMug.com), a premier online photo sharing and photo storage application, just announced new privacy and photo viewing features entitled SmugIslands, which means users can be an island with their photos. By overwhelming customer request, SmugIslands gives members the option to select whether their photo galleries are hidden or found by search engines like Google and Yahoo!, or the internal search capabilities within SmugMug.

For more than five years, SmugMug has enabled members to create an environment where members and visitors can share, view, print and simply enjoy photos. Now users can choose whether they want all their photos to be accessible to the world at large, to share only their SmugMug home page, or they can create a photo island accessible only to those they invite. Today, users can set distinct preferences for each of their photo galleries or make their preferences apply to all their photos. A member island is essentially an entire collection, excluding galleries marked as invisible.

"Our customers brought the enhanced security issue to us based on their concerns about having treasured family photos available to anyone who might search them out for nefarious purposes," explained SmugMug's President, Chris MacAskill. "SmugIslands provides the needed security our members were seeking, and then some, by providing the tools to build utterly private photo pages that give the owner absolute control over who can view photos. This is one island that is perfect for anyone who stores and shares photos online and demands total privacy."

About SmugMug
Founded in 2002 by father and son Chris and Don MacAskill, SmugMug was created based on the duo's love for both the Internet and digital photography. SmugMug is the largest independent profitable photo sharing Web site, one that continues to follow its vision for a destination free from outside pressures. With more than 300,000 paying customers and 160 million photos, the company continues to grow annually, adding new services and functions for its customers. With a great sense of responsibility for the photos stored on the site, SmugMug has become the trustees for the priceless images of families, passionate amateurs and professional photographers all over the world. For more information, log on to SmugMug.com.