I have been a Google Photos user for most of my life. All my media — from pictures taken during my vacations to work-related documents — has been on Google Photos forever. In fact, I was under the assumption that nothing could replace Google Photos in my life purely due to the convenience that it provides. Well, that was until I was introduced to the world of self-hosting by my colleagues at XDA. Hosting a server by yourself to store important data seemed like a fantastic approach, and I thought what better way to kick things off than replacing my expensive Google Photos subscription.
Enter — Immich — an open-source photo and video management solution. One that pulled me into the journey of self-hosting. In the beginning, the goal was simple — securely store my media. The experience, however, turned out to be much more rewarding than I expected, changing my media management habits altogether. If you’ve just started your self-hosting journey, or are looking to dip your toes into the world of self-hosting, firstly — it’s not as intimidating as it seems. Moreover, here are five surprising benefits I never expected when I took the plunge with Immich.
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5
Enhanced privacy and security
All your photos remain on your server
One of the primary reasons I shifted from storing all my media files in Google Photos to Immich was the privacy aspect. While Google Photos undoubtedly provides robust security measures, your data is stored on Google’s servers at the end of the day. This is an issue for those who store sensitive media on cloud platforms. Ideally, there shouldn’t be any issue. But during a breach, your data might get compromised.
Being a self-hosted solution, Immich enables you to have complete control over your data. To put it simply, you host your media on your own server. Thereby eliminating the risk of third-party services accessing any personal information.
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4
No more overpaying for storage
Use as many drives as you like
Google Photos only allows 15 GB of free storage. This is split across all your Google services, such as Google Photos, Google Drive, Sheets, etc. Let’s face it — the free quota gets consumed in no time, which means you’re pushed to purchase a Google One subscription plan. Like me, if you have hundreds of thousands of photos, you will have to opt for the top-tier 2TB plan, which is a whopping $100 per annum.
After I started self-hosting, I was initially concerned about the potential costs of setting up and maintaining a self-hosted server. Very quickly, though, I realized that self-hosting Immich turned out to be much more cost-effective. Instead of burning a hundred bucks every year, I spent that money on a 2TB hard drive. This was effectively a one-time purchase, since I don’t have to pay a recurring fee anymore. If I run out of storage, I can add another drive and extend it as much as I want.
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3
Doesn’t need an internet connection
Access photos using the local network
Google Photos needs a stable internet connection with high bandwidth to run smoothly. If you’re connected to a weak or slow network, your photos do not load properly. With Immich, you don’t have to worry about such issues.
You can simply host Immich on a device like a NAS or a home server and use it on your local network — even if you’re facing an internet blackout. To elaborate, you can set up Immich on your local server and access it from all the devices connected to the same network without requiring an active internet connection. That said, note that if you wish to access your Immich data remotely, you will need an internet connection.
2
Familiar UI
Looks just like Google Photos
If you’re worried that there will be a learning curve after switching from Google Photos to Immich — you’re fortunately wrong. You see, Immich closely mimics the Google Photos UI. Just like Google Photos, users can scroll through organized memories by date, access albums easily, and use the built-in search function to find specific moments.
Immich also supports features like favorites, metadata display, and sharing options. The intuitive UI ensures that anyone who’s used Google Photos will feel right at home. The point is that most self-hosted alternatives also have a polished UX that’s similar to most commercial or popular solutions.
1
Sharing hasn’t been simpler
No more collaborations using email IDs
While Google Photos has already simplified the process of sharing media, what if I told you that Immich provides an even more seamless experience in this regard? You can share your entire media library with family members just by adding them to the access list. Of course, this only works when all of them are using the same Immich instance as you.
This is handy for those who use your Immich server regularly, so your parents, spouse, kids, etc., can all view commonly shared photos with ease. No tagging or permission issues at all, unlike Google Photos.
Say goodbye to cloud storage
Apart from the clear advantage of not allowing your personal data onto other companies’ servers, self-hosting Immich made me realize that there are several benefits to self-hosting apps that aren’t popular. It not only gives you peace of mind because your data stays safe, but it also saves you money since you don’t have to pay for a cloud service anymore. Store as many photos as your hard drive can handle. It’s now time to explore some other apps that I can self-host to see what advantages they bring.
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