This past March it was announced that as part of Kodak’s restructuring, the online photo-sharing site ofoto or Kodak Photo Gallery will be sold off to Shutterfly and your photos will automatically be converted to the company’s platform – unless you opt out.

The email below was sent to customers today to let them know about the transition which is also detailed here. The company will be transferring 5 billion photos in July but in June Shutterfly will be sending instructions to users determining how they want to link up their Kodak Gallery account to their service.

It is pretty incredible that photo sharing has been in the news so much recently – with my recent post about Yahoo/Flickr from earlier today. Interestingly, everything said about Yahoo equally applies to Kodak but at least the Rochester-based film company isn’t a software/service provider so their inability to capitalize on this asset is more understandable.

One has to wonder however what would have happened if Yahoo and Kodak just purchased the photo sharing sites without taking them over. In other words, imagine if these early photo-sharing sites were able to reinvest in their futures without having to focus on integration with their parents.

Would one of them have become the next Instagram? Pinterest? Or even Facebook? Perhaps.

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Dear valued Kodak Gallery member:

As you know, Kodak Gallery is shutting down US and Canada operations as of July 2, 2012. Your account and photos will be moved for free to Shutterfly, a leading online photo services and social expression company. They offer many complementary services and products found at Kodak Gallery.

NOTE: The sale of Kodak Gallery assets to Shutterfly are for US and Canada account registrants only. These changes do not apply if you registered as a Kodak Gallery Europe customer. Your photos will remain intact and our Kodak Gallery Europe websites will continue to operate as usual until further notice. Click here for more details.

Both Kodak Gallery and Shutterfly are committed to the easy, safe and secure transition of your photos to Shutterfly-at no cost to you and no actions needed on your part. We will keep you informed about the status of the migration of your photos every step of the way, so you’ll know when you can access your free Shutterfly account.

Your photos will automatically be moved to Shutterfly:

• Please note, only your photos that you have uploaded will be moved. Your historical projects, such as book and calendar projects, promotions, site credits, gift certificate balances, video slideshows and other stored information will not be transferred to Shutterfly.
• We are still determining whether shared albums, Group Albums, and Sharing Sites will be accessible after Kodak Gallery closes on July 2, 2012. Please refer back to our FAQs online for further updates.
• You will need to complete all projects, place orders, and use any site credits in your Kodak Gallery account before Kodak Gallery closes on July 2, 2012. Visit Kodakgallery.com to see our current pricing and promotions to finish and re-print your projects.

If you choose not to have your photos moved to Shutterfly:

• You may simply opt out or close your account by May 28, 2012. Click here to opt out.
• Please note: Images not moved to Shutterfly will not be accessible after July 2 on Kodak Gallery. If you don’t have local copies of your photos, you can download or purchase a DVD of your photos through your Kodak Gallery account. Be sure to allow enough time for the download process or for ordering the DVD before Kodak Gallery closes on July 2, 2012.
• Visit Kodakgallery.com to see our current pricing and promotions to finish and re-print your projects.

Kodak, the brand you love and trust will remain open for business. Please visit Kodak.com for a range of photo solutions and options to meet your ongoing needs, including how to find your nearest Kodak Picture Kiosk for additional photo card, photo book and printing options.

To view more detailed information about the transition, please visit kodakgallery.com/transition.

We will constantly update this page, so please check back here if you have any questions, or contact our Help Center.

Best regards,
Kodak Gallery Customer Service