Google Photos Alternative: Stop Gemini AI scanning your pictures.
Looking for a Google Photos alternative? Whether it's to avoid Gemini AI or to DeGoogle, after reading this, you will know which alternative to Google Photos is best for you.
Best Google Photo Alternatives
- Zeitkapsl: European & privacy-focused
- Ente Photos: Easy to use & free
- Immich: Self-hosted & feature-rich
Why use a Google Photo Alternative?
- To DeGoogle
With the growing trend to DeGoogle, more people are choosing to stop using Google-owned products all together. Instead, people are switching to alternatives, and often choose products that prioritize privacy and security or tools that aren’t owned by Big Tech that make its profits from app tracking, collecting, and selling user data for targeted advertising.
- Gemini AI in Google Photos
Google is rapidly developing and rolling out new AI features into all of its apps. For example, there’s already Gemini AI in Gmail and Google also rolled out an update and added Gemini on your Android device - learn how to disable it here!
While some people will embrace that Google’s AI helps them compose emails or edit images, others are questioning if Gemini can see their photos and if they can really trust Google Photos - this is only worsened as Google rapidly integrates AI into its tools and pushes for users to try it.
Gemini AI is able to browse your Google Photos albums and create AI images based on them. Gemini’s personal intelligence features, which help Gemini give responses suited to your preferences and personality can now browse your Google Photos library. While this is only done with your permission via opt-in, it seems Gemini continuously asks users to enable personal intelligence features which is annoying. Another thing to be aware of is that based on Google’s past action of allowing Gemini AI to have access to Android users’ apps, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the tech giant quietly made another change to its terms of use to allow Gemini to have access to Google Photos by default.
Tired of Google tracking your every step? Use a Google Maps alternative!
- Google Photos is not private
When you use Google Photos and have backup and sync turned on, your images are stored in the Google Cloud on Google’s servers, and some images and videos are also stored locally on your mobile or computer. Google Photos stores data on its servers without end-to-end encryption, meaning Google technically has access to your content - the same is true when you use Gmail and Google Drive.
Best Google Photos alternatives: for your eyes only!
Now that we know Google Photos isn’t a good solution if you want your memories to be kept private and confidential, let’s take a look at private and secure photo storage alternatives. Below, we detail private Google Photos alternatives that are end-to-end encrypted by default and will allow you to backup and store your photos with peace of mind knowing that they are only accessible to you. While some of these alternatives might not have as much functionality as Google Photos, we’d say the trade-off for privacy is worth it.
Zeitkapsl: European & privacy-focused
ZeitKapsl offers end-to-end encrypted photo and video storage, fully hosted in the European Union, making it a good solution for people who prefer to choose European tech tools or have their data protected within the EU.
Zeitkapsl can be used on the device of your choice with its apps mobile apps for Android and iOS, or on its desktop app available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It offers a 30-day free trial after which you’ll need a subscription starting at 2€/Month for 50 GB.
Key features
- Automatic backup
- All media is end-to-end encrypted
- Apps for Android, iOS, & desktop
- Open source apps
- Local AI on your device
- Offline access
- Album sharing
- Family plan available
- All data replicated across two data centers hosted in the EU
- Runs off sustainable energy
Ente Photos: Easy to use & free
Ente Photos is another privacy-focused app that allows you to automatically backup your photos with end-to-end encryption. Ente Photos stands out with its easy-to-use apps, neat design and useful sharing features. Just like Zeitkapsl, Ente is open source, and it comes with no ads or tracking.
Ente Photos can be used on the device of your choice with its mobile apps for Android and iOS, it also has desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux, or it can be accessed in a web browser. Ente Photos is built by Ente, the company that offers a wider range of tools including Ente Auth, Ente Locker, Ensu - a personal LLM app. Ente Photos has a free and paid subscriptions available.
If you’re looking to try a Google Photos alternative and want a free solution, you could try its free plan which comes with a generous 10 GB of storage, or you could opt for a subscription starting at 2.99€ /Month for 50 GB.
Key features
- End-to-end encrypted
- Encrypted shared albums, hidden folders & shared private spaces
- Automatic backups
- Public links & shared albums
- Apps for Android, iOS, Web, Mac, Linux & Windows
- Family plan available
- Self hosting possible
- On device, Zero knowledge AI
- Memories feature
Tuta users can claim a 25% discount for the first year of Ente here!
Immich: Self-hosted & feature-rich
Immich is an excellent alternative to Google Photos for those who are familiar with self-hosting. Immich is rich in features, open source, and suitable for more tech-savvy people who would like a self-hosted solution and have the right infrastructure (home server or NAS). Because it’s self hosted, you have full control and ownership of your data. It has mobile apps available for download on Android and iOS allowing you to then backup your photos and videos to your server.
Key features
- Open source
- Fully self-hosted
- Full data control & ownership
- Automatic backups on mobile
- App for iOS & Android
- AI-powered search & organization
- Timelines & mapview
- Memories feature
- Sharing via links
Yes to more alternatives & privacy!
At the end of the day, if you choose to continue using Google-owned products, like Google Photos or Gmail, it’s important to remember that the tech giant does have access to whatever you store or do. For this reason, especially with such personal data like your years worth of pictures, we’d recommend making a switch to an alternative like Ente Photos or Zeitkapsl, or if you’re experienced with self-hosting, we’d recommend Immich. Whichever of these Google Pictures alternatives you choose for storing and backing up your photographs and memories, you will have much better privacy and your images and media will not have third-party access.
