Did Domain Tools Shut Down Screenshots.com?

[Arca]

I use screenshots.com dozens of times every day. It's a free service that shows you screenshots of how a domain was used in the past.

While the archive.org website history database is far more comprehensive, their load times and clunky interface make them unsuitable for quickly referencing the past usage of numerous domains as you work your way through various expiry/pre-release lists. I find screenshots.com to be far more effective for that purpose.

I noticed that the screenshots.com website does not resolve today, and the domain is now forwarding to domaintools.com:

Anyone know anything about this? Has domaintools.com shut down their screenshots.com service? DT have been in the process of limiting or shutting down services that don't target their corporate clients for some time now, so I'm wondering whether the site has been shut down as part of that trend...

 

[Arca]

Multiple sources have reported screenshots.com shutting down their free service.

 

[singhhooda]

It seems Screenshots.com is not part of member of domaintools.com for which we have to pay.

 

[Chris Wright]

If they aren't interested in serving domain investors anymore, why not sell the service instead of shutting it down. Seems short-sighted to me.

An immature alternative: competitorscreenshots.com.
They seem to index mainly large shopping destinations.

But, registered users can request the service to "Start Capturing This Site." If a lot of us do this, it will become more useful.

 

[Arca]

If they aren't interested in serving domain investors anymore, why not sell the service instead of shutting it down. Seems short-sighted to me.

They didn't shut it down entirely, they just shut down the free service that used to be open to everyone. It still exists behind a paywall. It's still possible to access screenshots.com, but it will set you back $99/month as a paying domaintools.com user.

 

[Chris Wright]

They didn't shut it down entirely, ... but it will set you back $99/month as a paying domaintools.com user.

I see.

For a while now, their all-consuming focus has been on corporate security.
They don't seem interested in serving domain investors.
Unless they pay a fee, that is too costly for most.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Spending a few minutes cleaning out an old hard drive (installed with other drives on large desktop) and came across screeshots.com...ah, the good old days!

Another case of a great resource going by the wayside.