{"slug": "photosync", "name": "PhotoSync", "category": "files", "category_name": "Files, sync and backup", "description": "", "recommenders": 6, "commenters": 10, "warners": 1, "score": 4.524, "rising": -0.64, "first": "2025-11-04", "latest": "2026-09-02", "why": "Personally I use PhotoSync [^2] to backup our photos from phones to a NAS. It works reliably", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 4, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Personally I use PhotoSync [^2] to backup our photos from phones to a NAS. It works reliably", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "photosync-app.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.photosync-app.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["PhotoSync"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 792704480, "item_id": 49544030, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49544030", "by": "QuiEgo", "date": "2026-09-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It has a killer feature Immich is still missing: encryption at rest of the photos.", "excerpt": "You can use https://www.photosync-app.com/home if all you want is a local backup. It has a killer feature Immich is still missing: encryption at rest of the photos.", "context": "", "use_case": "Local photo backup", "switched_from": "", "story": "Saving money on Google Photos with Immich: Your own personal photo storage"}, {"id": 778345644, "item_id": 48646602, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646602", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-06-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "PhotoSync (share photos with all platforms)", "excerpt": "Ublock-origin with Firefox, Audacity, Batch Photo Resizer, calibre, cardflow, Diffraction, Ejimo and Ultra Character Map (try finding emojis without them), Libre Office, Paprika Recipe Manager, Samurai Safe, SeaMonkey (who else edits HTML?) GIMP, Darktable, RawTherapee, Super Photo Upscaler, Sublime Text, VLC, Clearview (and why isn't epub supported natively?), PhotoSync (share photos with all platforms), GhostText f", "context": "", "use_case": "photo sharing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 745416688, "item_id": 46588543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46588543", "by": "kccqzy", "date": "2026-01-12", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use and like PhotoSync", "excerpt": "I use and like PhotoSync but I thought it doesn\u2019t export unmodified originals but your edited versions. Personally I like this behavior better but that might not be what you want? I\u2019m not sure Apple allows any third party app to access the unmodified originals. Imagine you crop a photo to remove some embarrassing part. A third-party app can just recover that? What a privacy risk. Of course this won\u2019t matter if you do", "context": "", "use_case": "Exporting iPhone photos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745319968, "item_id": 46582498, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46582498", "by": "zerkten", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "heard of PhotoSync and have never looked back", "excerpt": "Does the PhotoSync app permit that? I use it to copy files to my NAS but it has some USB-related options I never explored. I used to use Image Capture but heard of PhotoSync and have never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "Copy iPhone photos to NAS", "switched_from": "Image Capture", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745302688, "item_id": 46581418, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46581418", "by": "jackvalentine", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use PhotoSync on my phone for this", "excerpt": "I use PhotoSync on my phone for this - select which albums to sync where with a rule and away you go.", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing photo albums", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 745436192, "item_id": 46589762, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46589762", "by": "zerkten", "date": "2026-01-12", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I had taken https://www.photosync-app.com/support/basics/answers/does-photosync-preserve-the-metadata-in-my-photos-and-videos", "excerpt": "It's right to question this. I had taken https://www.photosync-app.com/support/basics/answers/does-photosync-preserve-the-metadata-in-my-photos-and-videos (\"PhotoSync transfers the original, unaltered images including all EXIF and GPS data\") on face value without thinking of all of the iCloud behavior. Even limited copies would suffice in my case, but that's insufficient for others.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["local photo backup", "photo sharing", "exporting iphone photos", "copy iphone photos to nas", "syncing photo albums", "backing up phone photos to nas"], "compared": [{"slug": "immich", "name": "Immich", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46578921", "title": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)", "mentions": 5}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46095087", "title": "Self-hosting my photos with Immich", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49538375", "title": "Saving money on Google Photos with Immich: Your own personal photo storage", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48643848", "title": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794971", "title": "My Ridiculously Robust Photo Management System (Immich Edition)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45798681", "title": "Why Nextcloud feels slow to use", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"neutral": 2}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 792704480, "item_id": 49544030, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49544030", "by": "QuiEgo", "date": "2026-09-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It has a killer feature Immich is still missing: encryption at rest of the photos.", "excerpt": "You can use https://www.photosync-app.com/home if all you want is a local backup. It has a killer feature Immich is still missing: encryption at rest of the photos.", "context": "", "use_case": "Local photo backup", "switched_from": "", "story": "Saving money on Google Photos with Immich: Your own personal photo storage"}, {"id": 778345644, "item_id": 48646602, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646602", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-06-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "PhotoSync (share photos with all platforms)", "excerpt": "Ublock-origin with Firefox, Audacity, Batch Photo Resizer, calibre, cardflow, Diffraction, Ejimo and Ultra Character Map (try finding emojis without them), Libre Office, Paprika Recipe Manager, Samurai Safe, SeaMonkey (who else edits HTML?) GIMP, Darktable, RawTherapee, Super Photo Upscaler, Sublime Text, VLC, Clearview (and why isn't epub supported natively?), PhotoSync (share photos with all platforms), GhostText f", "context": "", "use_case": "photo sharing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 749459937, "item_id": 46841246, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46841246", "by": "gingerlime", "date": "2026-01-31", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sync my photos using PhotoSync rather than rely on the app", "excerpt": "From what I was reading immich should preserve your original media. I saw this bug report[0] but it\u2019s not clear if it\u2019s an app upload bug, iOS bug or maybe depends on the device?? I don\u2019t use immich (yet) but this is the kind of stuff I worry about. I\u2019m planning to use it in read only mode though and sync my photos using PhotoSync rather than rely on the app. [0] https://github.com/immich-app/immich/issues/17576", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "My Ridiculously Robust Photo Management System (Immich Edition)"}, {"id": 745436192, "item_id": 46589762, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46589762", "by": "zerkten", "date": "2026-01-12", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I had taken https://www.photosync-app.com/support/basics/answers/does-photosync-preserve-the-metadata-in-my-photos-and-videos", "excerpt": "It's right to question this. I had taken https://www.photosync-app.com/support/basics/answers/does-photosync-preserve-the-metadata-in-my-photos-and-videos (\"PhotoSync transfers the original, unaltered images including all EXIF and GPS data\") on face value without thinking of all of the iCloud behavior. Even limited copies would suffice in my case, but that's insufficient for others.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745416688, "item_id": 46588543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46588543", "by": "kccqzy", "date": "2026-01-12", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use and like PhotoSync", "excerpt": "I use and like PhotoSync but I thought it doesn\u2019t export unmodified originals but your edited versions. Personally I like this behavior better but that might not be what you want? I\u2019m not sure Apple allows any third party app to access the unmodified originals. Imagine you crop a photo to remove some embarrassing part. A third-party app can just recover that? What a privacy risk. Of course this won\u2019t matter if you do", "context": "", "use_case": "Exporting iPhone photos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745319968, "item_id": 46582498, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46582498", "by": "zerkten", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "heard of PhotoSync and have never looked back", "excerpt": "Does the PhotoSync app permit that? I use it to copy files to my NAS but it has some USB-related options I never explored. I used to use Image Capture but heard of PhotoSync and have never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "Copy iPhone photos to NAS", "switched_from": "Image Capture", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745302688, "item_id": 46581418, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46581418", "by": "jackvalentine", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use PhotoSync on my phone for this", "excerpt": "I use PhotoSync on my phone for this - select which albums to sync where with a rule and away you go.", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing photo albums", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 745287921, "item_id": 46580495, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46580495", "by": "8fingerlouie", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Personally I use PhotoSync [^2] to backup our photos from phones to a NAS. It works reliably", "excerpt": "It does. It uses PhotoKit to access photos, so it basically uses your Apple Photos app (iOS or Mac) to download the photos. The only scripted solution I can think of that works with ADP is osxphotos[^1], but that also uses PhotoKit, and requires the user to be signed in. Personally I use PhotoSync [^2] to backup our photos from phones to a NAS. It works reliably, and supports exporting unmodified originals as well as", "context": "", "use_case": "backing up phone photos to NAS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Open-source iCloud Photos Downloader (AKA escape from iCloud)"}, {"id": 738766530, "item_id": 46172908, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172908", "by": "terminalgravity", "date": "2025-12-06", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use photosync to upload to a folder that is an external library for immich.", "excerpt": "I use photosync to upload to a folder that is an external library for immich. Immich then periodically scans that folder to load new assests. I usually use digikam to manipulate that folder. Immich is there just for easy remote browsing of those files.", "context": "", "use_case": "Uploading photos to folder", "switched_from": "", "story": "Self-hosting my photos with Immich"}, {"id": 738748081, "item_id": 46171755, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46171755", "by": "vekerdyb", "date": "2025-12-06", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "syncing my photos with PhotoSync from my iPhone", "excerpt": "Surprised that neither the article, nor the comments mention Photoprism from what I can see. It\u2019s not I\u2019ve been hosting Photoprism and syncing my photos with PhotoSync from my iPhone for a while now. I would consider switching to another solution if it had in-browser basic editing (cropping, contrast / white balance adjustment, etc). https://www.photoprism.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "Syncing iPhone photos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Self-hosting my photos with Immich"}, {"id": 732946177, "item_id": 45809136, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45809136", "by": "noname120", "date": "2025-11-04", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I haven\u2019t tried it but a popular option on iOS seems to be", "excerpt": "Unfortunately Apple puts extremely strict restrictions on background tasks so you will never have something as seamless as native iCloud or the amazing Android FolderSync app that I used for realtime synchronization for several years without a single issue. I know people work around these iOS limitations by setting up springboard widgets that piggyback on background refresh tasks to do uploads. People also create Aut", "context": "", "use_case": "photo sync on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Nextcloud feels slow to use"}]}