An overview is given on auto‐photosensitive polyimides as introduced for the first time in 1985. It is shown how development proceeded and how the chemical basis of auto‐photosensitive polyimides was extended beyond BTDA. Novel “photosensitizer tetracarboxylic dianhydrides” like 2,3,6,7‐thioxanthonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (TXDA) were synthesized and copolymerized into preimidized nonphotoactive polyimides containing tetracarboxylic acids like 6FDA or ODPA. Novel photosensitive polyimides were obtained that carry all essential features of BTDA based systems plus higher photospeed. They provide the ability to better tailor material properties to specific applications.