One year of self-hosting Google Photos

motivation

If you were to take:

• 2,000 photos / year at 3 MB each
• 300 videos / year at 1080p, 30 fps, averaging 50 MB / video

Over the span of 60 years, you would accumulate 360 gigabytes of photos and 900 gigabytes of videos for a total of 1.26 terabytes.

Let’s assume that a Weissman score of 5.2 with middle-out compression remains fictional for at least a century and the iPhone 23 Pro Max doesn't shoot in 64K ProRAW. Let us also generously round up to 2 terabytes of photos and videos throughout one person’s life. This is a lot of data to keep safe and secure.

I find tremendous sentimental value in my lifelong archive of countless core moments and I wish to pass them on until the heat death of the universe. This archival instinct extends beyond photos and videos. A similar goal of mine is to contribute to my family’s genealogical research and encourage others to participate.

control

Perhaps the most significant upside of self-hosting is the personal control over and ownership of your data. People value control for various reasons. Personally, I prioritize reliability. I feel that keeping all of your assets in the cloud, dependent on continued access to your account, gives me nothing but crippling anxiety.

$$$

As of today, 5 TB of Google storage is ~$200 / year or $12,000 over 60 years. This may be a scary number, but you get cutting-edge functionality, universal sharing, zero maintenance, and much more.

Many self-hosting gurus will reel you in by claiming "cloud storage = burning money" and fearmonger about the lifetime subscription cost. Fear not, as self-hosting is not always a cheap alternative.

For example:

Replacement: Drives and other hardware will eventually need replacing. I budget for drive replacements around every six years and a hardware refresh around every ten, although actual lifespans vary.

Backup: Primary storage is not a backup and most people follow the 3-2-1 rule with redundancy. Let me save you some time and tell you that the "1" in "3-2-1" means one copy offsite, such as a backup array at your in-laws’ house. Personally, I decided to use the "cost-efficient" Backblaze object storage as a backup, which I project will cost me nearly the same as Google Photos in the long run.

Other hidden costs range from the electricity bill to the slow plunge into insanity caused by the faint clicking of WD Red drives. One day you will be sitting in the data center that was once a bedroom and realize it was never about the fractional savings. You just wanted to have fun.

fun

At the end of the day, self-hosting is a hobby. It requires continuous interest for the foreseeable future. It's kind of like buying a pet turtle, you better like turtles.

It is also a scalable project that grows with your curiosity and desire. You can learn the fundamentals of networking, storage management, security, automation, etc. Virtually anything.

hardware

NAS TOTAL = $515 | DRIVES TOTAL = $215

software

I have been using Immich, the open-source Google Photos alternative. It has provided everything I need:

• an active community of contributors
• updated docs
• a Discord server and Reddit where they release patch notes and provide technical support

Personally, I have had a great experience with Immich and even found the facial and contextual recognition to be surprisingly good. Other than that, it has provided the same functionality I previously used in Google Photos.

I have had no issues with automatic syncing or asset duplication. Immich uses a precise checksum-based syncing algorithm that compares checksums of photos on your device with those on the server.

If you are running into an issue, it will most likely be a rare breaking change associated with a recent release. If so, there should be step-by-step instructions from the developers on how to navigate it.

conclusion

I absolutely recommend self-hosting if it sounds interesting and practical for you. It has not been a burden on my life and continues to provide me the storage and utility I need.

• storage used: 996 GiB
• monthly backup cost: ~$11
• time spent on maintenance: 3 hours total
• downtime: power went out a few times, no data loss
• what I miss from Google Photos: nothing yet
• planned upgrades: none I have to pay off my student loans first

repo