Synology Photos

Photo library and phone backup app for Synology NAS owners, included with DSM.

FreeSelf-hostablePhoto storage and management apps

Visit Synology Photos See 4 alternatives

Verified facts: 3 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Synology Photos

Synology Photos is the photo management app that comes free with Synology's DSM operating system for its NAS devices. It backs up phones automatically through iOS and Android apps, organises photos by date, folder, people (with on-device face recognition), places and tags, and supports shared albums with password and expiry options. Shared Space gives teams or families a common, folder-based library with per-folder permissions, while each user also has a personal space. Because everything lives on your own NAS, there are no subscription fees beyond the hardware, though you should still back up the NAS elsewhere. It is only available on Synology hardware, search is less clever than Google Photos, and support for some RAW and HEVC formats depends on the NAS model and installed packages. For Synology owners it is the easiest way to leave cloud photo services.

Best for: Synology NAS owners who want to replace cloud photo backup.

What works

No subscription, included with DSM
Mobile backup and face recognition on your own hardware
Shared Space for family or team libraries

Why people leave

Only runs on Synology NAS devices
Search is basic compared with Google Photos
You must back up the NAS separately

Top Synology Photos alternatives

See all 4

1
Immich
Runs in Docker on a Synology too, with richer features.
66.5
2
PhotoPrism
Docker-based library with AI tagging that runs on most NAS devices.
62.6
3
Google Photos
Hosted option with no hardware to maintain.
59.6
4
Mylio Photos
Device-to-device library without a NAS or cloud.
57.2

Why people left Synology Photos

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Synology Photos, review the app you switched to and tell us why.

Reviews

No approved reviews yet. How we verify reviewers

Write a review of Synology Photos

Your rating of Synology Photos

Name

Never shown publicly. A work email helps us verify you.

Title

Your review

What did you use it for, and what was good or bad? At least 40 characters.

Did you switch from another app?

Why did you leave it?

How can we verify you use it? (optional)

A GitHub username, your company domain, or say you can send a screenshot. Verified reviews count more.

I received money, credit or a gift for writing this review. (Incentivized reviews are shown but don't count toward rankings.)

By submitting, you confirm you're at least 16 and agree to our terms. Your name, rating, review and the date are published; your email isn't. See our privacy policy.

Synology Photos: common questions

Is Synology Photos free?

Yes, Synology Photos is free to use.

Is Synology Photos open source?

No, Synology Photos is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Immich and PhotoPrism.

What platforms does Synology Photos run on?

Synology Photos is available for Web, iOS, Android and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Synology Photos?

The highest-ranked Synology Photos alternatives right now are Immich, PhotoPrism and Google Photos. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Synology Photos alternatives

Synology Photos facts

3 of 3 verified

Purpose: Organising, sharing and safeguarding photos; Checked Oct 25, 2026synology.com(opens source in a new tab); “Synology Photos Your all-in-one solution for organizing, sharing, and safeguarding your precious memories.”
Shared libraries: Shared Space; Checked Oct 25, 2026synology.com(opens source in a new tab); “folder-based media library by creating a Shared Space.”
Sharing links: Passwords and expiration dates; Checked Oct 25, 2026synology.com(opens source in a new tab); “passwords or expiration dates when sharing links.”