When considering apps that keep me bound to Google’s ecosystem, Google Photos has been one of the biggest obstacles to reducing my reliance on the tech company. I’ve explored plenty of useful self-hosted apps, but self-hosting my own image backups has been one of the more rewarding experiences.
However, in the time since deciding to move from Google Photos, I’ve learned a lot through self-hosting Immich and the challenges that come with preserving your data.
Getting started was easier than expected
Though there was still some troubleshooting
I started using Immich pretty early in my self-hosting journey when I was exploring different containers to try in Docker Desktop. I don’t have any coding skills, and I was still pretty new to using Docker Compose, but it was still relatively easy to get started using the app.
This means that you don’t have to be a self-hosting expert to get started with trying out alternatives to Google Photos. There are also other solutions available, such as Synology Photos, which are pretty user-friendly.
Setting up Immich on my Synology NAS took a bit more effort than the container hosted on my main PC, but I was still able to do this relatively quickly. There was some troubleshooting involved, but it took me less than one afternoon to get the solution working.
Self-hosted doesn’t mean a lack of features
Alternatives are packed with functionality
When I first set up Immich, I expected there to be issues with its machine-learning algorithm and other features. But I was surprised by just how many features the software supports, including its ability to identify different faces.
Immich also has a memories feature that allows you to see highlights from the past. It can identify when you’re uploading duplicate images and skip those uploads (which was useful when my server temporarily went down and I had to re-upload a batch again). The platform also has a free app you can use on your phone to automatically back up your device’s images.
But it’s not the only self-hosted Google Photos alternative out there. Some apps are broad cloud services that allow you to back up documents and photos, while others focus on image storage for teams or individuals. You’d be surprised by how feature-rich they are and how many options are available.
You need to set up safeguards against data loss
You can’t truly switch before this
If you know about the 3-2-1 backup rule, you’ll know that simply having a NAS with your images or a copy of your files on your computer is not enough to protect you against data loss. Right now, I have made sure that I have backups of my images on multiple drives on multiple devices.
But to truly safeguard my data, I would need an off-site backup. This protects my data in case something happens to the main location where my backups are stored, such as a fire or natural disaster.
If you choose to self-host your photo backups, you also don’t have much recourse if something goes wrong with your server or device. On Reddit, I’ve read about users having some of their files restored by Google after they deleted them and cleared their trash. But if you’re using a self-hosted solution, you don’t really have a company with cloud backups of your data that can help you restore images.
That’s why if you truly want to make the switch, you need to ensure that you’ve safeguarded your backups as much as possible.
It will still take some time to completely break away from Google
Changes take time
Currently, I have over 40,000 photos and videos saved to Google Photos. Downloading and uploading these backups to my self-hosted server has taken some time. But even when I’ve transferred everything I want to save, I’ll still need to find further solutions to truly ditch my Google One subscription.
Since storage for Gmail, Drive, and Photos is shared across all the services (rather than each having its own allocation), I need to ensure I have robust solutions in place to truly switch. The free Google plan has 15GB of storage, which will be enough for my email. But I’ll need to figure out a cloud solution for my documents.
I also haven’t uninstalled Google Photos from my phone because I can only access my NAS from my home network. This is perfect for backing up photos, but presents a barrier if I want to access an older image that isn’t saved on my phone.
These are limitations presented by my own specific setup, however, especially since I’m still learning the ins and outs of self-hosting. Eventually, I plan to learn how to make my server available remotely, once I’ve learned how to properly secure it. Then I’ll find a solution for my off-site backup and make the transition away from a paid storage plan once and for all.
Breaking away from Google Photos is possible, but it takes time
I don’t use Google Photos to edit my images, and my storage subscription has always been a grudge purchase since Google ended its free unlimited storage policy. So I’ve been interested in finding an alternative for some time.
Self-hosting my image backups has taught me a lot about open-source tools, but has also made me aware of the limitations of my own abilities. While I have been willing to sacrifice some of the convenience of Google’s platform, the responsibility of preserving my data is one that’s front of mind — making the transition slower than I would like. I’m glad I have implemented my own image backups in the meantime, though, since I’ll be ready to completely cancel my Google One subscription long before I have to upgrade to another storage tier.