Your photos and videos aren't just files—they're your most precious digital possessions. Yet most of us entrust these irreplaceable memories to closed ecosystems that mine our data, limit our control, and charge increasingly expensive subscriptions. Immich shatters this paradigm with a refreshingly different approach: a stunning, high-performance photo and video management platform you can host yourself. With its polished mobile apps, AI-powered organization, and beautiful interface, Immich delivers everything you love about premium photo services without surrendering your privacy or opening your wallet to perpetual subscriptions.
Website: https://immich.app/
immich-app
Why Choose Immich?
In a digital world where your memories have become the product, Immich offers a fundamentally different approach:
- True Privacy by Design
Your photos stay on your server, under your control. No data mining, no targeted ads, no mysterious "AI training" on your family moments. - Photo Management Without Compromise
Immich delivers the features you expect from premium services: face recognition, object detection, memories, albums, sharing, and more—without artificial limitations. - Cross-Platform Freedom
Beautiful native mobile apps for iOS and Android, plus a responsive web interface that works on any device—all synchronized seamlessly. - AI-Powered Organization
Automatic face clustering, object recognition, and semantic search capabilities help you find any photo instantly, all running on your own hardware. - Performance That Scales
Engineered for speed and efficiency, Immich handles libraries of 100,000+ photos and videos with responsive performance on modest hardware. - Community-Driven Development
With over 65,000 GitHub stars and 1,200+ contributors, Immich evolves rapidly with new features and improvements from a passionate community.
Spotlight on Key Features
1. Comprehensive Asset Management
• Upload and view photos and videos from any device
• Support for RAW formats, 360° images, and HDR content
• LivePhoto/MotionPhoto backup and playback
• Prevent duplication with intelligent detection
• User-defined storage structure for organization
2. AI-Powered Organization
• Facial recognition and clustering to find people across your library
• Object and scene detection for searchable content
• CLIP-based semantic search ("sunset over mountains," "kids playing soccer")
• Automatic metadata extraction and geocoding
• Memory surfacing ("X years ago today")
3. Intuitive Sharing Options
• Create albums and shared albums with fine-grained permissions
• Partner sharing for family photo access
• Public sharing links with optional passwords and expiration
• Multi-user support with separate libraries
• Read-only galleries for selective sharing
4. Thoughtful Mobile Experience
• Automatic background backup when the app is opened
• Selective album backup options
• Offline access to favorite photos
• Download photos and videos to local device
• Cross-device synchronization
5. Advanced Organization
• Archive and favorites collections
• Global map view for location-based browsing
• Timeline with scrubbable navigation
• Stacked photos for bursts and similar shots
• Custom tags and folder views
Immich vs. Closed-Source Alternatives
How does Immich stack up against the big names in photo management? See for yourself:
| Feature | Immich | Google Photos | Apple iCloud | Amazon Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free, self-hosted | $2/month (100GB), $10/month (2TB) | $1/month (50GB), $10/month (2TB) | $2/month (100GB), included with Prime |
| Data Privacy | ✅ Complete control | ❌ Data mining for AI | ⚠️ Better but still cloud-based | ❌ Used for targeted ads |
| Face Recognition | ✅ Local, private | ✅ Cloud-based | ✅ On-device but cloud sync | ✅ Cloud-based |
| Original Quality | ✅ Always | ⚠️ Compressed unless paid | ✅ With paid plan | ✅ With paid plan |
| Video Support | ✅ Full | ⚠️ Limited by storage | ⚠️ Limited by storage | ⚠️ Only with paid plan |
| RAW Support | ✅ Full | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ With paid plan | ⚠️ Limited |
| API Access | ✅ Complete | ❌ Limited | ❌ Very limited | ❌ None |
| Offline Access | ✅ Mobile app | ⚠️ Selected photos only | ⚠️ Selected photos only | ⚠️ Selected photos only |
| Source Code | ✅ AGPL-3.0 | ❌ Closed | ❌ Closed | ❌ Closed |
| Data Portability | ✅ Complete | ⚠️ Via Google Takeout | ⚠️ Via Data & Privacy | ⚠️ Limited export options |
| GitHub Stars | 65.2K+ | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Beyond Features: The Freedom Factor
The comparison table doesn't capture the most crucial difference: with Immich, you own your photo platform. This means:
- No Surprise Changes: Unlike Google's sudden policy shifts or feature removals, your photo library remains stable
- No Vendor Lock-in: Export or migrate your data anytime without complex procedures
- No Subscription Fatigue: Pay once for hardware, use forever without recurring fees
- Longevity: Your photo management solution won't disappear if a company changes direction
- Privacy by Default: Your family moments aren't training someone else's AI models
Getting Started in Minutes
Immich offers several deployment options to match your technical comfort level:
🐳 Docker Compose (Recommended)
The quickest way to get started for most users:
# Download the installation script
curl -L https://immich.app/install.sh -o immich-install.sh
# Make it executable
chmod +x immich-install.sh
# Run the installation script
./immich-install.sh
🧠 Advanced Options
For users wanting more control:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/immich-app/immich.git
cd immich
# Start the stack
docker-compose up -d
📱 Mobile Setup
- Download the app from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or download the APK directly
- Enter your server URL during setup
- Log in with your credentials and start backing up your memories
Real-World Success Stories
"After trying and abandoning both Google Photos and iCloud, I finally found photo nirvana with Immich. All the features of the big players but running on my home server—and face recognition actually works better!"
— Nadia, Photographer and Privacy Advocate
"I was paying almost $120/year for cloud photo storage and still didn't feel in control of my family's memories. Immich on my home NAS has been running flawlessly for 14 months with 155,000 photos and videos."
— Marco, Tech Enthusiast and Father of Three
Practical Applications
Family Photo Archives
Create a central repository for family photos that everyone can access and contribute to—without worrying about privacy or recurring subscription costs.
Photography Professionals
Maintain a self-hosted portfolio and client delivery system with full control over storage, organization, and access permissions.
Privacy-Conscious Users
Keep sensitive photos completely private without trusting third-party cloud providers or sacrificing modern organizational features.
Multi-Device Households
Synchronize photos across iOS and Android devices in a single household without platform lock-in or multiple subscription plans.
Join the Immich Community
With over 65,000 GitHub stars and a thriving ecosystem, Immich is one of the fastest-growing open-source projects in its category:
- Contribute Code: Help enhance features or fix bugs via GitHub
- Join Discussions: Connect with users and developers on Discord
- Translation Help: Contribute to making Immich available in more languages
- Support Development: Purchase merchandise or sponsor the project
Final Thoughts
Your photos and videos represent your most precious digital assets—irreplaceable memories that deserve better than being locked in proprietary systems, mined for data, or held hostage behind escalating subscription fees.
Immich represents a fundamental shift in how we approach personal media management—combining the polish and features of premium services with the freedom, privacy, and control that only open source can provide. Whether you're a privacy advocate, a photography enthusiast, or simply someone tired of paying endless subscriptions, Immich offers a compelling alternative that puts you back in control of your memories.
Ready to liberate your photo library? Explore immich.app or dive into the code on GitHub.