Immich

Overview

Immich is a high-performance, self-hosted photo and video management solution that serves as a direct, privacy-conscious replacement for Google Photos. While many self-hosted galleries feel slow or clunky, Immich is built from the ground up for speed and a modern user experience. It provides a familiar interface that makes the transition away from Big Tech effortless for the entire family.

By running Immich on your own hardware—whether it’s a dedicated server, a NAS, or an old PC—you regain 100% ownership of your memories. You are no longer subject to changing storage policies, privacy violations, or monthly subscription fees. It’s a powerhouse tool for those who want the convenience of the cloud without the privacy trade-offs.

Key Features

AI-Powered Search and Organization

Immich uses machine learning (running locally on your server) to provide facial recognition and object detection. You can search for “dog,” “beach,” or specific people just like you would in Google Photos, but without sending your biometric data to an external corporation.

Seamless Mobile Sync

The Immich mobile app for iOS and Android provides automatic background backup. Once configured, your photos and videos are uploaded to your server as soon as you take them, ensuring your memories are safe even if you lose your phone.

Multi-User Management

Immich is designed for households. You can create multiple accounts, each with its own private library. It also supports “Partner Sharing” and shared albums, making it easy to share specific memories with family members while maintaining individual privacy.

Privacy & Security

The primary security benefit of Immich is its self-hosted nature. Your photos are stored on your hard drives, not on a third-party server. This eliminates the risk of data mining for advertising purposes.

From a technical standpoint, Immich supports secure authentication and can be placed behind a reverse proxy (like Nginx or Traefik) to enable HTTPS/TLS encryption for data in transit. While it supports encryption at rest if your underlying file system is encrypted, the software’s greatest security strength is that it keeps your personal data entirely within your local network or under your direct control.

Getting Started

1. Prepare your environment: Ensure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your server or computer.
2. Download the configuration: Fetch the docker-compose.yml and .env files from the official Immich GitHub repository.
3. Launch the container: Run docker-compose up -d to start the Immich services (database, server, machine learning, and microservices).
4. Initial Setup: Navigate to http://your-server-ip:2283 in your web browser to create your admin account and start uploading photos.

Who Is It Best For?

Immich is ideal for “prosumers” and privacy enthusiasts who are comfortable with basic terminal commands and Docker. It is perfect for families who want a centralized photo hub without paying for Google One or iCloud storage. If you already own a NAS (like Synology or TrueNAS) or a home server, Immich is arguably the best photo management software available today.

Final Verdict

Immich is currently the gold standard for self-hosted photo management. It successfully replicates the “snappiness” and intelligent features of Google Photos while removing the privacy concerns associated with centralized cloud providers.

While it is still under heavy development—meaning users should perform regular backups before updating—the feature set is already robust enough for daily use. If you are ready to take control of your digital footprint, Immich is the ultimate tool to liberate your media library.