# Google Photos Google Photos is a cloud-based photo and video storage, organization, and sharing service developed by Google. Launched in 2015 as a standalone product split from Google+, it uses machine learning for automatic categorization, facial recognition, and search. ## Key features - **Automatic backup**: Syncs photos and videos from mobile devices - **AI-powered search**: Search by people, places, objects, and text — no manual tagging needed - **Memories**: Surfacing past photos based on date and location - **Sharing**: Shared albums, partner sharing, and shareable links - **Editing**: Built-in photo and video editing tools with AI-powered suggestions (Magic Eraser, etc.) - **Google Lens integration**: Identify objects, text, and landmarks in photos - **Cross-platform**: Web, Android, iOS, and Chromebook ## Storage and pricing - Free tier was unlimited (compressed) until June 2021 - Now counts against Google One storage (15 GB free shared across Gmail, Drive, Photos) - Paid plans via Google One for additional storage ## Self-hosted alternatives - **[[Immich]]**: The most popular open-source alternative — high-performance, self-hosted, with similar ML-powered features (facial recognition, CLIP search, memories) running entirely on local infrastructure - PhotoPrism - LibrePhotos ## References - https://photos.google.com - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Photos ## Related - [[Immich]] - [[Google Keep]]