Google Photos is a set-it-and-forget-it app. It backs up media from my Android phone in the background, without requiring manual intervention. However, my over-reliance on Google Photos meant I ran out of the default 15GB of free storage in no time.
I didn’t want to switch away from Google’s services, so I paid for the 200GB Google One plan. Fast-forward a few months. I’m about to exhaust that, and I don’t want to pay for the 1TB plan because it’s expensive.
I decided to look for alternatives and found Immich, a self-hosted photo gallery app. I used Docker to deploy it, and here are five reasons I wish I had switched to it earlier.
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5 It’s free!
Save your $$$
A big reason for switching to Immich was the annual savings of $99. That’s the cost of the 1TB Google One subscription. While it’s not exorbitant, it’s an extra expenditure you can prevent using a self-hosted alternative.
Immich doesn’t offer a cloud storage solution. Instead, it uses your local storage to save photos and displays them in a gallery. You can access its files remotely since you’re hosting the service on your network.
You’re not using anyone else’s storage, so you don’t have to pay for it. The only expense is a storage drive, if you don’t have one large enough. This is a one-time expense and not a recurring one. You can buy a 1TB SSD for under $100. That’s better than paying Google $100 every year.
4 Unlimited storage (sorta)
No upload limits
Immich is free, and there aren’t upload limits. Data is stored locally on your storage, so the upload limit is determined by your drive’s available capacity. If you get a fresh 1TB SSD and allocate it solely to back up your photos, you have 1TB of storage. However, you can use a part of the storage drive if you don’t have many files to back up.
You determine how much capacity you need for your photos. The best part is that you’re not stuck with the storage you get. You can start with 200GB, and add drives to expand the storage to what you need.
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3 Privacy-first approach
Keep your photos safe
Since photos are stored on your local server, big corporations cannot use your data for purposes you don’t consent to. When you upload your data to a company’s servers, it may be used to train AI models, send you related ads, and other things. Also, it’s prone to data breaches. These can be avoided by using Immich.
You know your data isn’t being used by anyone. If you store sensitive photos, a self-hosted solution like Immich is the way to go. There’s no third-party access, and knowing that makes the effort of self-hosting worth it for many people.
2 Can be accessed on any device
Even without an app
Immich can be downloaded on Android via the Google Play Store and iOS devices via the App Store. The app supports automatic backup, similar to Google Photos. What’s different is that the backup is stored on your server instead of uploaded to Google’s.
The advantage of self-hosted services is that you can access them without a dedicated app. You can use a web browser. This is useful when viewing your photos on devices that don’t have an app store or have limited app support, like TVs or older tablets.
1 Doesn’t need an internet connection
Access files locally
Immich works independently of an internet connection, as long as you’re connected to the same local network. You can access your pictures even when there’s a network outage. You’re not reliant on an active internet connection, which you are when using Google Photos or other cloud services.
Another advantage is the ease of sharing albums with family. You can share folders with devices connected to the local network, and they can access the photos without an active connection. Your family can upload photos to these shared folders, making collaboration easy. On Google Photos, you can only share folders with others using a Google account.
Store your photos without paying a penny
Apart from saving a few hundred dollars every year, self-hosting a service like Immich means your data remains safe on your servers. While using cloud storage may seem convenient, your data is at risk of being used by the company for ads or training AI models.
This risk is ruled out when self-hosting, since your photos aren’t uploaded to remote servers. You’ll save money and get extra peace of mind. Now that’s a win-win!
