Immich is a self-hosted photo and video management platform backed by FUTO that provides automatic mobile backup, facial recognition, smart search, and a polished timeline view. Both Android and iOS apps connect to a server you run, keeping media entirely on your own infrastructure.
Immich
immich.app
Immich has become the default recommendation for self-hosted photo management, and for good reason: the interface is close enough to Google Photos that migration feels natural, and FUTO backing gives it financial stability uncommon in open-source media projects. The privacy model is straightforward: your server, your data, no third party involved. One important honest point: Immich is not end-to-end encrypted. Files sit on your server in a readable form, so the security of your photos depends on how well you secure the host machine and network access. For anyone willing to run a home server or a VPS, that is a reasonable trade for regaining control over a photo library.
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Free to use, even commercially. Changes must be published under the same license, and running a modified version as a network service counts as distributing it.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Network use is distribution
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: The network clause is the point. Anyone who runs a modified version as a hosted service has to publish those changes, so the code handling your data stays inspectable. This is why privacy-first projects reach for AGPL.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.