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Immich

Replace Google Photos With Your Own Server

Back up all your photos privately to your own server — free Google Photos replacement.

v2.7.5
Apr 2026
WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOSFreeOpen Source

Google Photos ended free unlimited storage in 2021, forcing users with large libraries to either pay for Google One, compress their photos, or delete memories. iCloud Photos and Amazon Photos operate the same way — your entire personal photo archive lives on corporate servers that scan images, train AI models, and must comply with government data requests.

Immich is a self-hosted photo and video management platform that reproduces the Google Photos experience on hardware you control. Deploy it on a home server or NAS using Docker, install the mobile app on your phone, and it automatically backs up every photo and video in the background — the same seamless experience as Google Photos, but the data never leaves your network.

Features match what most users rely on daily: a timeline view, album sharing, multi-user accounts for family members, face recognition that groups photos by person, and a map view for browsing memories by location. Non-destructive editing lets you adjust photos without touching originals. End-to-end encrypted external backups protect against drive failure.

Storage costs nothing beyond your own hardware. A basic home server with a 4TB drive can store tens of thousands of photos permanently — no monthly fee, no compression, no algorithm deciding what memories to surface.

Compared to Nextcloud Photos, Immich offers a far more polished mobile experience because it was built specifically for photo management rather than as a general-purpose file manager. With over 100,000 GitHub stars, it is one of the most actively developed self-hosted open-source projects available, with a dedicated team pushing regular updates and new features.

Related Tools

  • Jellyfin — Stream your video library from the same home server — movies, TV shows, and recorded content all in one place
  • TinyMediaManager — Organize and add metadata to your video files before serving them through Jellyfin or Immich

FAQ

Is Immich free?+
Yes, Immich is completely free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. There are no paid tiers, no subscription fees, and no storage limits — your only cost is the hardware you run it on. The mobile apps for Android and iOS are also free.
How to replace Google Photos for free?+
Install Immich on a home server or NAS using Docker, then install the Immich mobile app on your phone. Enable automatic backup in the app settings and it will upload all your photos and videos to your server in the background — exactly like Google Photos, but on hardware you control.
Best free alternative to Google Photos?+
Immich is widely considered the best free self-hosted alternative to Google Photos. It offers automatic mobile backup, face recognition, timeline view, shared albums, and multi-user support — all the features most Google Photos users rely on, with no monthly fee and complete data privacy.
Immich vs Nextcloud Photos — which is better?+
Immich is purpose-built for photo management and offers a significantly better mobile experience, faster browsing, and dedicated face recognition. Nextcloud Photos is a plugin within a general-purpose file server. If photos are your primary use case, Immich is the stronger choice.