Yahoo strikes again, acquires GhostBird Software

The photo-editing app maker is the creator of KitCam and PhotoForge 2

Yahoo is starting to look like some kind of serial dater or something. Just three weeks after acquiring Tumblr for a steep $1.1 billion, Yahoo is already moving onto its next kill. The company announced Wednesday that it has acquired iOS photo app maker GhostBird Software. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. 

Unlike many of Yahoo’s previous acquisitions, the GhostBird acquisition doesn’t appear to be just a talent acquisition. A Yahoo spokesperson says that Yahoo plans to integrate many of the mobile photography experiences from GhostBird into its Flickr apps.

GhostBird is the technology platform behind KitCam and PhotoForge 2. Henceforth, neither KitCam nor PhotoForge 2 will be available to download in the App Store. KitCam allows you to control settings like exposure, focus, and white balance before you take a picture. It also comes with lenses and filters that you can apply to the image after it’s been taken. PhotoForge 2 is an app that allows you to apply filters, lenses, and other effects after the image is shot.

Unlike other photo apps, they’re better suited to pro and amateur photographers—those who actually know something about adjusting brightness and colors.

“If users already have the KitCam or PhotoForge2 apps on their devices, they will be able to continue to keep using them. We won't continue to update the apps in future versions of iOS are released and as of today, they’ll no longer be available for download from the App Store,” a Yahoo spokesperson said.

Yahoo has been on a mission to revitalize the long-ailing Flickr. Back in December, the Flickr iPhone app got its first update in a year. And shortly after Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr, it overhauled the entire Flickr experience with a redesigned home page and photo stream, a new Android app, and more storage space for users (one terabyte, to be exact).

A Yahoo spokesperson tells me that every day, 3.5 million photos are uploaded to Flickr, which now boasts eight billion photos altogether. Flickr now has more than 89 million users and photo uploads on the mobile apps has grown by 50% quarter-over-quarter.

“As photography enthusiasts, we are long-time admirers of Flickr, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring our technology and passion for beautiful photos to the Flickr team,” the GhostBird Software team said in a statement. “There has been so much exciting progress at Yahoo! as they re-imagine their most-loved products for mobile, including the awesome new Flickr apps for iOS and Android.”

A Yahoo spokesperson says that co-founders Travis Houlette and Ye Lu will join Flickr’s team in San Francisco.