How to replace "Google Photos": 5 options for every taste

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The Corporation of Goodness attraction is over. Here are some ideas for where to transfer your precious pictures.

1. Hard disk

Hard drives are great storage for photos. They do not have two disadvantages of cloud services. Firstly, it is enough to buy a hard disk once - it does not ask for money regularly. Secondly, the volume of your photo archive will be unlimited, since you can simultaneously use as many hard drives as you want.

But keep in mind that hard drives can fail over time - modern hard drives, of course, are quite reliable, but they cannot be called completely indestructible. The situation can be rectified by making backups to several disks. Or, smarter, create a RAID array out of them. You only need to buy a RAID controller for the disks, such as this one.

2. Network Attached Storage (NAS)

A more convenient tool for storing photo archives is Network Attached Storage (NAS). This is a ready-made mini-server. Install hard drives in it, connect to the network - and you will have your own cloud. It will be able to save files from all devices on your home network.

Some NAS provide their own applications that allow you to access your photo archive directly from the Internet, even when you are not at home. The amount of memory is limited only by the slots in the NAS and the amount you are willing to spend on hard drives. No subscriptions or sudden closure news.

3. Own server

This is a way for those who like to customize everything with their own hands. A home server can be made of anything: old hardware from your computer, gathering dust on a laptop shelf, a single board like a Raspberry Pi, and so on. Large capacities are not needed here - even some Core 2 Duo, preserved from time immemorial, can handle it.

Once the machine is running and making sure it works, install some stable and undemanding Linux distribution on it, such as Debian. Then connect a couple of external hard drives to the server and open access to them from the local network. A simple storage is ready.

If you want to make not just a shared folder on the local network, but a real cloud, install it on your server. It has client applications for both desktop PCs and mobile devices. A kind of Dropbox, only it does not require money.

4. Other cloud storage

There are a lot of cloud services on the Web - both from large companies like Microsoft and Amazon, and little-known ones. Check out our overview of NAS to find the option that works best for you.

Most clouds limit their maximum volume even with a paid subscription. But, for example, "Yandex. Disk" upload as many photos as you like from mobile devices. And on Flickr, you can store an unlimited number of photos if you pay for the Pro subscription for $ 6.99 per month.

Another issue is that these companies, like Google, can also refuse to provide such services at any time. And the cloud service can also easily shut down, change the storage conditions for files, or raise prices.

5. Photo album

A paper album is a way of storing photos that many people forget about in the digital age. But he also has a right to exist. Order your photos in bulk and place them in an album. It is much cheaper than using network attached storages. The photo album cannot be broken, and it will be available even if the Internet and electricity are interrupted.