I have switched most of my daily apps to FOSS alternatives or privacy adhering closed apps, however I cannot find a suitable replacement to Google Photos, at least not without significant compromises.
My key factor to choosing an appropriate alternative to app is its UI, which you may think has nothing to do with privacy. But as it turns out, there are plenty of alternative apps that I could switch to, which makes it difficult for me as a layman FOSS user to choose from. So naturally I would to resort to the option that looks and behaves similar to the original app the most. As said before, I haven’t faced a problem in switching in the case of other apps, but for some unknown reason I cannot find a good Photos alternative for myself anywhere.
Does anyone know the app I am looking for? I am still open to using apps that provide greater functionalities if it comes at the cost of appearance. it is just that I don’t wish to use a 10-year old looking software for a core purpose of my new phone. Apart from the UI, I just need the app to have local functionality since I don’t really back my photos in the cloud.
Edit: I don’t have the facility to self host, thus I would be avoiding apps that only rely on self hosting images
Have you tried Immich? It has a very similar feel to Google Photos but with the advantage of owning your storage.
This looks promising! Would you know if it supports searching by map? Ie could I load up a map of an area and access the way photos taken there? Or alternatively, could I search by the name of a location?
It does both.
I like the direction it’s headed in… but the name and logo 🫠 (not to it’s detriment at all… just not it.)
What’s wrong with the name and logo?
I can’t see myself saying “I use Immich”. It feels like something that’s a local cultural name instead of a brand name… you know?
This is just a nitpick tho…
I don’t see any connection with cultures. It’s just “image” slightly mispronounced, I think.
Same here, the app is brilliant and I use it to backup and host all my personal photos - but the name & logo leave something to be desired.
Genuinely curious as to what is wrong with the logo? It’s similar to gphotos. The name is similar to image.
The logo is not simple enough to clearly see on small mobile screens and the name sounds (to my ears) neither ‚professional‘ (Photoprism or LibrePhotos) nor ‚playful‘ (Tiddlywiki, Lychee). This is both quite subjective, so your mileage may differ wildly.
Subjective it is, it takes nothing away from the app at all I must say. If you can self host Immich I’m sure you can change the icon and rename it yourself.
Of course, it takes nothing away from the app – I use it very happily on a daily basis. I just wish these things will be changed one day, then I will be even happier. 😁
100%
“Immich”? It’s a nonsense word in English… what does it mean, and in what language?
It’s a weird way to write “image” …
Oh, is it mocking an accent? It’s not, like, Norwegian for “asshole?”
It’s just an alternate spelling that matches the way some Americans might say the word image, but also I hope what you said is true too.
Maybe it’s meant like sammich, as in, “make me a sammich.”