Sustainable Substitutes for Google Photos

A photo management tool that inherits all of Google's privacy concerns.

Reasons to avoid Google Photos

Google Photos exemplifies many of the ethical and environmental issues associated with Big Tech: it centralises vast amounts of personal data and lacks transparency in its data practices, including for its unnecessary AI features. Its parent company’s history of tax avoidance and engagement with authoritarian regimes doesn't make it better.

Opt for privacy-focused, open-source or decentralised photo storage solutions that prioritise user control and transparency.

Ethical and Sustainable Google Photos Alternatives

Copied!
  • Feasibility: How easily can the average user switch to this substitute? Higher feasibility results in a higher ranking.
  • Editor's Rating: How sustainable is the substitute? The more sustainability attributes it fulfils, the higher it is ranked.

Ente Photos

Ente Photos is a private, secure photo storage app with end-to-end encryption.

Ente Photos is fully open-source, with both client and server code available on GitHub, allowing for transparency and community contributions.
Ente Photos provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only you can access your photos and videos, with no third-party access.
Ente Photos can be self-hosted via Docker, offering users full control over their data and infrastructure.
Ente Photos does not include advertisements, focusing instead on user privacy and experience.
Ente Photos offers a free tier with 10GB of storage, and additional storage is available through affordable paid plans.
Website

Immich

A high-performance, self-hosted photo and video management solution.

Immich is a fully open-source project, allowing users to audit, modify, and contribute to the codebase, ensuring transparency and community-driven development.
All photos and videos are stored on your own infrastructure, meaning no third-party servers, data mining, or privacy concerns—your memories belong to you.
Immich is designed to be self-hosted, giving users complete control over their data and infrastructure, with no reliance on external cloud services.
There are no advertisements in Immich, as it is a self-hosted solution with no monetisation through ads.
Immich itself is free to use, though you may incur costs for your own hardware and maintenance.
Immich uses a modular architecture, allowing each component to be scaled independently, and separating machine learning services from the core API for better performance and reliability.
Website

The 6 main issues with Google Photos

Big Tech - Big Tech companies do not nourish people and planet. This is especially true in times of political tension.

Google Photos is a product of Google (Alphabet), one of the world’s largest tech companies, which dominates multiple digital markets, including cloud storage and AI-driven services. Its market power raises concerns about competition, user choice, and the concentration of data in the hands of a few corporations.Source: Ars Technica: Google warns EU’s plans to weaken its monopoly could expose user data (2026)

Privacy Concerns - User data is likely to be stored and used against users' best interest.

Google Photos collects and analyses vast amounts of personal photo and video data, which can be used to build detailed profiles of users. There have been instances of privacy breaches, such as private videos being sent to strangers due to technical issues. The sheer volume of data stored (4 trillion photos as of 2020) also increases the risk of identity theft or unauthorized access if data is compromised.Source: The Verge: Google admits it sent private videos in Google Photos to strangers (2020)Wired: Everyone Is Using Google Photos Wrong (2022)

Lack of Transparency - Opacity in operations, data handling, or supply chains, making it difficult for users to understand practices.

Google Photos’ use of AI to analyze and edit photos lacks clear, upfront disclosure. While recent updates aim to label AI-edited images, the metadata and labels are not always obvious to users, making it hard to know when and how AI has been used.Source: TechCrunch: Google adds new disclosures for AI photos, but it’s still not obvious at first glance (2026)

Tax Avoidance - Aggressive strategies are being deployed to avoid paying taxes.

Google has a history of using aggressive tax avoidance strategies, such as the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich,” to minimize its tax obligations globally, including for services like Google Photos.Source: The Verge: Google will finally stop using controversial Irish and Dutch tax loopholes (2019)

AI Bloat - Service has unnecessary or harmful AI features.

Google Photos increasingly integrates AI features (e.g., “Ask Photos,” Magic Editor) that add unnecessary complexity, lag, and resource use, often without clear user benefit or consent.Source: ZDNET: 13 Google Photos settings I always change on every new device - and why (2026)

Support of Authoritarian Regimes - Companies actively supporting, financing and legitimising regimes and unethical policies.

Google has kissed Trump's ring by donating $1 million to his inauguration. Google is adapting its products to satisfy the administration.Time: How Google Appears to Be Adapting Its Products to the Trump Presidency (2025)

Suggestions and Feedback

If you have suggestions for more alternatives or general feedback, please contact me via email or create an issue over on Codeberg. Suggest Substitute on Codeberg Write an Email