Immich replaces a cloud photo service with software that runs on hardware you own. Mobile apps for iOS and Android back up new photos and videos in the background, so the library on your server stays current without you thinking about it.
What sets it apart from older self-hosted gallery software is that it does not feel like a compromise. The timeline scrolls smoothly through tens of thousands of items, search understands natural language, and faces are grouped automatically by an on-device model rather than by a cloud API.
Because everything stays on your hardware there is no storage cap, no subscription, and no third party holding your family photographs. The tradeoff is that backups, disk health, and upgrades become your responsibility.
Decisive facts
- Automatic background backup from iOS and Android
- Face recognition and natural language search running locally
- Map view for geotagged media and shared albums for family
- RAW support and duplicate detection for larger libraries
- Multi-user accounts with partner sharing