5 Google Photos features that have no good open source app alternative (yet)

I remember when photo libraries were a massive, disorganized attic where memories went to be forgotten.

Finding that shot of your dog at the beach three years ago meant endless scrolling until your thumb begged for mercy.

Those days are behind us.

In modern photo libraries, our photos are searchable and malleable data points. Google Photos is the perfect example.

I’ve spent years with it and watched it grow into a cloud-powered photo service with powerful generative AI features.

I loved what it could do, but because it all lived in Google’s cloud made me want to see if I could build something similar on my own terms.

I’ve put a lot of work into replicating Google Photos’ magic on my self-hosted setup, and while some features are up and running, there are still a few pieces missing that make me miss Google Photos.

…