Open source alternatives to iCloud Photos

What iCloud Photos does

iCloud Photos works with Apple’s Photos app. It stores every photo and video in iCloud at full resolution in the original format (HEIF, JPEG, RAW, PNG, GIF, TIFF, HEVC and MP4, along with Live Photos, slo-mo, time-lapse and 4K video) and keeps the library in sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Windows PCs running iCloud for Windows, and iCloud.com. Edits and deletions show up on every device. Optimize Storage keeps smaller copies on the device and the originals in iCloud. Shared Albums let you share photos with other people. Each Apple Account gets 5 GB of free iCloud storage, and more is available with an iCloud+ subscription.

Why people look for an alternative

• Storage. The free 5 GB is shared with everything else in iCloud, so most photo libraries need an iCloud+ subscription.
• Built for Apple devices. Apple’s setup instructions cover Apple devices and Windows through iCloud for Windows. There is no Android app, so family members on Android or Linux are left with iCloud.com in a browser.
• It is sync, not backup. Apple says photos in iCloud Photos are not duplicated in iCloud Backup and advises keeping backup copies. A deletion syncs to every device and becomes permanent after 30 days in Recently Deleted.
• Encryption depends on a setting. Under standard data protection, Apple holds the encryption keys for Photos. Photos are end-to-end encrypted only when Advanced Data Protection is turned on, and Apple’s support note of 22 September 2025 says it can no longer offer that feature to new users in the United Kingdom.
• Getting your library out. You can download originals, or request a copy from Apple’s Data & Privacy page, which delivers photos in their original formats. That download is only available for 14 days.

What to compare in an alternative

1. iOS background backup. Does the iPhone app upload reliably in the background, and does it handle HEIC, Live Photos and RAW?
2. Encryption. End-to-end, as with Advanced Data Protection, or readable by whoever runs the server.
3. Access from other platforms. Apps or a web interface for family members on Android, Windows and Linux.
4. The library features you rely on. People, a places map, memories, shared albums and edits that sync.
5. Moving your library. How you export from Apple, and whether the new tool keeps capture dates and Live Photo pairs.

Which one to choose

Immich is the closest self-hosted match. Its iOS and Android apps back up selected albums in the background, it handles HEIC, RAW, Live Photos and Motion Photos, and it offers a timeline, faces, smart search and shared albums. It does need a server with at least 6 GB of RAM. Ente Photos is the nearest equivalent to iCloud Photos with Advanced Data Protection: files and metadata are encrypted on the device, it has apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and the web, and you can use the developers’ hosted service or run the server yourself. If you already run Nextcloud, Memories gives you a timeline, albums and maps, and the official Nextcloud iOS app handles automatic upload. PhotoPrism indexes HEIC files and Live Photos well for browsing a large archive, but iPhone uploads rely on a third-party WebDAV app.