Immich vs. Google Photos: Self-Hosting Photo Vaults and the Ghosts of EXIF Data
Immich and Ente dominate the conversation as the primary, high-quality replacements for Google Photos. For camera enhancements, the fight remains split between complex, rooted solutions like AGC and simpler, readily available tools like Open Camera, with the best choice hinging on the viewing software used.
The community voices a clear preference for Immich for photo management, citing its advanced AI/ML search capabilities. Users acknowledge this power but flag the prerequisite: self-hosting. For editing, names like Photopea (an online workaround) and iudesk Photo Editor surfaced, showing a search for desktop-grade functionality without corporate surveillance. A significant recurring complaint, noted by 'angrycustard', is the technical frustration with services exporting metadata in 'incredibly annoying' formats instead of keeping it locked within the image file itself.
The consensus solidifies around self-hosted, feature-rich alternatives. Immich earns high praise for its organizational tools, while the struggle to maintain proper EXIF data shows a deep, technical vein of user frustration with off-the-shelf cloud services.
Key Points
Immich is the top recommendation for cloud backup alternatives.
Multiple users, including 'scrubbles', praised Immich for its AI/ML search and capability to create limited-permission links.
Rooted, complex camera enhancers are debated against simple options.
Some users push for rooted solutions like AGC for top quality, while others feel Open Camera offers sufficient capability for general use.
The preservation of EXIF data is a major technical vulnerability.
The failure of services to keep metadata within the image file was called out as 'incredibly annoying' by 'angrycustard'.
Self-hosting complexity is the main barrier to entry for superior tools.
While 'AmazingAwesomator' calls Immich 'phenomenal,' they immediately qualify this by noting the requirement for the user to handle the entire self-hosting process.
Online or non-native solutions fill editing gaps.
When local apps fall short, workarounds like the online editor Photopea are cited as viable substitutes for desktop-level editing.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.