Webshots was created in 1995 by Auralis, Inc. in San Diego, California. It was initially a sports oriented screen saver sold at retail for desktop computers. Founders Andrew Laakmann, Danna Laakmann, Nick Wilder, and Narendra Rocherolle migrated the desktop software to the Web and became one of the earliest instances of photo sharing

Photo sharing

Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others . This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images...

 found online. The Webshots Community launched in 1999 as the first photo sharing website with an emphasis on public sharing.

In October 1999, Webshots was sold to Excite@Home for $82.5 million dollars in stock.