Cards / needs / Photo Galleries
Photo Galleries
Self-hosted alternatives to Google Photos, Amazon Photos and Flickr.
What people say
- back up my phone photos
- a private place for family photos
- keep sensitive photos off the cloud
- search my photos by face or place
Why people self-host it
People leave Google Photos, iCloud Photos, Amazon Photos, Flickr for it. Why, strongest first: privacy, cost, control.
Does it suit a machine of your own?
Fits, with conditions good with enough disk and a backup plan; photos are irreplaceable, so the backup is not optional
Questions that decide it
- how sensitive are they, and do you need them away from home?
- how much space does your library take?
How to publish it
- Usually
- none, with the app's own login, because phone backup apps cannot pass an Edgible sign-in (the immich card does this)
- When the data is private or sensitive
- offer three: not published (back up on home Wi-Fi only), org for the web with phone uploads at home, or none with a strong login and prompt updates. Add disk encryption and an encrypted off-site backup.
- When the data is regulated
- photos of patients, clients, or children carry legal duties: a prototype with consented or test photos only; real data needs compliant hosting and advice
Who sees what inside it
albums and partner sharing decide which family members see which photos; check sharing defaults before inviting people
The machine
lots of disk (library plus about 20% for thumbnails); 6 GB memory for Immich; a GPU helps face search but is optional
For builders
a photo store with face and place search, for a product prototype that works with people's photos
Cards for it
- immichImmich, your photo and video library, for its phone apps and the webpassed 2026-10-12, Edgible 1.4.6
Category from awesome-selfhosted.