Immich: Free Open Source Photo and Video Management Platform

In a world dominated by cloud giants like Google Photos and iCloud, many privacy-conscious users are searching for self-hosted alternatives to manage their memories.

Immich is emerging as one of the most promising solutions. Fully open source, actively developed, and packed with smart features, Immich lets you securely store, organize, and enjoy your photos and videos—right from your own server.

Whether you're a solo user, a privacy enthusiast, or managing a family photo archive, Immich offers everything you need with no subscription required.

Uploading Photos

Immich makes uploading content incredibly smooth. You can upload photos and videos through:

• The web interface
• Mobile apps (iOS and Android)

Uploads support background sync, so your mobile photos can be automatically backed up when connected to Wi-Fi. EXIF metadata is preserved, ensuring your media is correctly sorted by date and location.

Picture Details

Clicking on any photo reveals a rich detail panel that includes:

• Timestamp and camera model
• Resolution and file size
• Location coordinates (if available)
• Detected faces
• Album or tag associations

This metadata is not only useful for viewing but also improves search and organization, giving you deeper control over your photo library.

Face Recognition

One of Immich’s standout features is its built-in face recognition. After uploading, Immich can scan your photos and identify individual faces using local AI models. Once trained, you can name the people it detects and group their photos effortlessly.

Privacy is a top priority—face recognition runs entirely on your server without sending any data to external services.

Location Map

Immich visualizes your memories with a beautiful map view. If your media has GPS metadata, it will be pinned automatically on the world map. This makes it easy to browse your travel history or rediscover moments from past adventures.

You can filter by location, date, or even people, making the map an interactive and intuitive way to explore your archive.

Albums & Share

Immich supports both manual and smart albums. You can:

• Create custom albums by selecting media
• Use smart filters like “last 30 days” or “all photos with [Person]”
• Set cover images and descriptions

Sharing is easy too. You can generate private, password-protected links to share albums or individual photos—no third-party service required.

Utils, Archive, & Trash

Immich helps keep your library clean and manageable with several utility features:

• Archive: Move older media out of your main timeline view
• Trash: Deleted items go here temporarily, giving you time to recover them
• Duplicates detection (in progress or via external tools)
• Search bar: Find photos using dates, tags, people, or even camera models

These tools make organizing large libraries less overwhelming.

Mobile Apps

Immich’s mobile apps are polished and easy to use. Available for both iOS and Android, the apps support:

• Auto backup from camera roll
• Viewing and browsing albums
• Face tagging and searching
• Uploading photos and videos directly from your phone

The UI is responsive, fast, and optimized for everyday use—even when handling large libraries.

Conclusion

Immich is the perfect tool for anyone who wants to take back control of their photo and video memories. With support for face recognition, geolocation, albums, and mobile syncing—all while staying open source and self-hosted—it stands as a serious alternative to commercial photo platforms.

Whether you're a privacy advocate or just tired of paying monthly fees, Immich gives you the freedom to own your memories.

Ready to try it? Deploy your Immich instance with Elestio.