The deal gives users continued access to their photos and other data on Twitpic, but it isn't clear for how long.
Twitpic founder Noah Everett wrote in a blog post Saturday that he was happy to announce his company "reached an agreement with Twitter to give them the Twitpic domain and photo archive, thus keeping the photos and links alive for the time being."
The Twitpic service let people share their images on Twitter, but lost its relevance as Twitter made it easier to upload photos directly.
The company said earlier this month it was shutting down on Saturday after a failed acquisition deal which was to prevent it from having to close. Everett said the acquisition had been prematurely announced as eventually "agreeable terms could not be met" with a potential buyer. Twitpic had said last month it would shut down after a trademark dispute with Twitter. "Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter to maintain our mark which we believe whole heartedly is rightfully ours," wrote Everett in September.
As Twitpic's user base consists of Twitter users, it made sense to keep the data with Twitter, Everett wrote Saturday. "Twitter shares our goal of protecting our users and this data," he added.
Twitpic's website will continue in a view-only mode and will not accept new photos and data. Users can still login to their profiles, delete content or Twitpic accounts, or export and download their content, Everett said. The iOS and Android apps have been pulled down from their app stores and will no longer be supported, he added.
Twitter could not be immediately reached for comment.
Internet archivists Archive Team said it had decided to make a full copy of Twitpic as it looks now, because it is unsure about the potential changes as a result of the agreement between Twitpic and Twitter.
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com