Are you ready to ditch Google Photos and host your own photo server yourself? There are several ways to do this, allowing you to store your images without giving Google the right to browse them all.
Whether you already have a storage server at home or are looking to get started, here are three self-hosted alternatives to Google Photos. I have ranked them from the simplest and most basic to the most advanced and complete.
Plex
You may already use Plex as a media streaming hub, but did you know it also works as a photo server? Plex Photos is already integrated with your Plex server, and there’s even a mobile app to automatically manage backing up your photos on the go.
The only downside to Plex is that there are no real AI or ML capabilities available. Instead, you’ll get a no-frills photo app that simply puts your photos front and center. However, this also means that you cannot search for a dog and view photos of your four-legged friend.
Overall, though, Plex offers a completely free solution if you already have a Plex server up and running (or are planning to build one). It’s also nice that Plex Photos wasn’t affected by the recent Plex Pass overhaul that disabled remote access without a subscription. Luckily, the Plex Photos app still works remotely without paying Plex a dime.
- Brand
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Plex
- Free trial
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Free version available
With Plex, you can keep a single, unified watchlist for any movie or TV show you hear about, on any service, even theatrical releases! You can finally stop scrolling through watchlists on all your other streaming services and add everything to Plex instead.
Photos at Synologie
If you own a Synology NAS, you already have access to Synology Photos. This backup service runs locally on your NAS and allows you to easily store all photos and videos from various devices.
However, if you don’t already own a Synology, then you can start backing up your photos for a relatively low price. The Synology Beestation, for example, comes with a 4TB hard drive preinstalled and costs just $220. This unique NAS server supports all Synology applications and works perfectly as a remote photo backup server.
Of course, it also works as a full-fledged file server and can replace Google Drive along with Google Photos, making it a versatile purchase.
- Brand
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Synology
- Processor
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Realtek RTD1619B
Store, access and share files on the web, or from your desktop or mobile devices with BeeStation.
Share storage with family and friends so everyone has their own personalized storage space. Back up files from Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and external drives to a central location.
Immich
For those who want the closest experience to Google Photos, you can’t go wrong with Immich. This self-hosted software runs full machine learning and uses locally hosted AI models to categorize photos, perform facial recognition and much more. In reality, Immich completely replaces Google Photos. The mobile app for Immich is pretty excellent and is also on par with Google Photos in my experience.
The only downside to Immich is its deployment and the hardware needed to run it. Because it has the ability to perform both AI and ML markup, you need a relatively powerful system to run it. I used Immich with a GTX 1660 Ti graphics card, but it will also work well on newer Intel CPUs or any modern graphics card when doing AI/ML markup. The more power you have, the faster the initial beacon occurs and the more efficiently it works.
Overall, if you want a direct Google Photos replacement, it’s Immich. You can create multiple user accounts, you can generate links to share specific photos or albums, and it has all the search capabilities you could dream of. You just need to have the infrastructure to make it work.
- Supported Desktop Browsers
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All
- Brand
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Immich
Immich is a self-hosted photo server that can replace Google Photos or iCloud Photos. With on-device machine learning and AI tagging, you’ll still be able to search for “dog” and find photos of your furry friends. Being self-hosted, all your data stays with you and away from prying eyes, also giving you enhanced security.
No matter which solution you choose to replace Google Photos, you should consider the 3-2-1 backup strategy. You must perform on-site and off-site backups to ensure data integrity. For example, if all the photos in your life are stored on a Beestation and that drive dies, then you’ve lost everything.
However, if you have some form of backup solution (be it Backblaze B2, Synology C2, or simply storing encrypted data in Google Drive or Dropbox), then you have a recovery method available should a drive fail. You can even back up to another storage server at a friend’s house or that you keep at a family member’s house. I’ve even known people to make a backup of their drive and send it across the country to someone they knew.
Regardless of which backup method you choose, I strongly advise against leaving Google Photos, migrating all your photos to a local server, and then not keeping it backed up remotely. This is simply a recipe for disaster.
