Google Photos
Your memories — and what Google does with them
⚠️ The privacy case
Google uses photo content to improve its AI models and to power cross-product features. Facial recognition data is collected from your photos. Google Photos has been used in criminal investigations via court orders. In 2022, a Texas man was investigated after Google automatically scanned his photos and flagged content to authorities — a reminder that Google has the ability to scan your photos and acts on what it finds. In 2021, Google ended free unlimited storage, requiring payment above 15GB.
What it is
Google Photos offers 15GB free storage shared with Gmail and Drive, with paid plans for more. It includes AI-powered organization, facial recognition that learns your family members, content search ("find photos of the beach in 2019"), automatic albums and memory highlights, and seamless backup from Android and iPhone. It is genuinely excellent software. It is also a complete record of your life — where you've been, who you've been with, and what you look like — stored on Google's servers and subject to their terms of service.
What you lose
- Best AI photo organization in the industry (genuinely hard to match)
- Facial recognition that builds family albums automatically
- Content search ("show me all photos with dogs")
- Magic Eraser and other AI editing tools
- Free backup on Android without configuration
- Shared albums and collaborative features
Honest assessment
Google Photos' AI organization is the hardest thing to replace. Nothing else does "find me all photos from our vacation in 2021" as well. iCloud Photos is close on Apple devices. Immich (self-hosted) is catching up fast. If you decide to leave Google Photos, expect to lose the AI features for now. The privacy tradeoff — Google has facial recognition data for every person in your photos — is real and worth weighing honestly.
Data to export first
- Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) → select Google Photos → choose albums → export
- Large libraries split into multiple 2GB ZIP files — allow several hours to days
- Alternative for organized libraries — download albums directly in Google Photos (three dots → Download)
- Check the exported files before deleting from Google — verify counts match
Alternatives
- Apple iCloud Photos 5GB free; $0.99/month 50GB; $2.99/month 200GB; $9.99/month 2TB — Best alternative for iPhone users. On-device processing for facial recognition — not sent to Apple's servers. iCloud Shared Photo Library for families. Seamless iPhone integration. Good AI organization (not as good as Google, but close enough for most users). Note — covered in the Apple exit guide for users moving away from Apple.
- Immich (self-hosted) Free (you provide the hardware — Raspberry Pi 4+, mini PC, or NAS) — The best open-source Google Photos replacement. Self-hosted — your photos never leave your home. Facial recognition, automatic albums, mobile backup app, timeline view, sharing, map view. Actively developed and improving fast. Requires technical setup but documentation is excellent. Best choice for users who want full privacy and control.
- Proton Drive 1GB free; from $3.99/month 200GB — End-to-end encrypted photo storage. Photos are private even from Proton. No AI organization — it's encrypted storage, not smart photo management. Best for privacy-first users who don't need AI features.
- Synology NAS + Synology Photos NAS hardware $200–500 (one-time) + drives + free software — Run your own photo server at home. Synology Photos includes facial recognition, automatic albums, mobile backup, sharing, and a timeline view. One-time hardware investment, no ongoing subscription beyond electricity. Excellent for families who want local control and don't want a monthly bill.
- Ente Photos Free 5GB; from $1/month 50GB — End-to-end encrypted, open source, and audited. Clean mobile apps. Facial recognition on-device. Good option if you want cloud backup with real encryption at a lower price than Proton.
Migration steps
- Export all photos via Google Takeout — allow plenty of time for large libraries
- Verify the export is complete before proceeding (check file counts against Google Photos)
- Choose your destination (Immich for full control, iCloud for Apple users, Ente for encrypted cloud)
- Set up automatic mobile backup to the new service before disabling Google Photos backup
- Upload your exported library to the new service
- Run both services in parallel for 30 days to confirm backup is working
- Delete from Google Photos only after you're confident the new backup is solid
- Turn off Google Photos backup in the Google Photos app settings