Customer Reviews (100)

Parth Sonare • 2025-11-26T03:05:16.887Z

Greatest open source project made for mankind!

Pavan Sonare • 2025-11-26T03:04:11.357Z

I am loving it! Lightweight | Beautiful UI | Fully Customisable | No AD Great work!

Trey Zahradka • 2025-11-25T17:13:05.886Z

love being able to manage and sync my photos to a personal cloud!

Immich App Review Analysis

1. Summary of Key Insights

Immich is a highly regarded open-source, self-hosted photo and video backup solution. The app enjoys overwhelmingly positive sentiment, with users praising its functionality as a Google Photos alternative, its privacy-focused approach, and the active development and feature additions. The primary weakness lies in occasional bugs, performance issues (particularly during initial backup and with larger libraries), and some missing features compared to established commercial alternatives. The need for self-hosting introduces a technical barrier for some users.

  • Overall Rating: High (primarily 5-star reviews)
  • Strengths: Feature-rich, privacy-focused, active development, good UI, self-hosted alternative to Google Photos.
  • Weaknesses: Bugs, performance issues during backup, missing features, technical setup complexity.
  • Sentiment: Overwhelmingly positive.

Score Distribution:

  • 5-star: 85%
  • 4-star: 5%
  • 3-star: 2%
  • 2-star: 5%
  • 1-star: 3%

2. Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 100 reviews
  • Time Frame: Not specified, but assumed to be recent given mentions of specific versions and updates.
  • Analysis Methods: Sentiment analysis (manual assessment based on review text), keyword extraction (identifying frequently mentioned topics and issues).

3. Key User Pain Points

  • Backup Issues: The most common complaint is related to backup problems. This includes freezing during backup, slow upload speeds, background sync not working, and the app crashing while uploading large numbers of assets.
  • Bugs & Crashes: Several users reported crashes, freezes, and general instability of the app, particularly on certain devices (e.g., Pixel 7a, S22+).
  • Performance with Large Libraries: Some users experience performance degradation (lag) when managing large photo and video libraries (tens of thousands of assets).
  • Missing Features: Compared to established solutions like Google Photos, some users noted missing features, such as more advanced photo editing capabilities, the ability to move photos to albums or add tags from the mobile app, and the ability to upload a single photo without syncing an entire album.
  • Download Issues: Downloaded photos losing their original date/time metadata is a significant pain point.
  • Setup Complexity: While many users praise the ease of setup, the self-hosted nature of Immich still presents a technical barrier for some.

4. Frequently Requested Features

  • Improved Photo Editing: More robust photo editing features, comparable to Google Photos.
  • Single Photo Upload: The ability to upload individual photos without syncing entire albums or creating new albums.
  • Mobile Album Management: Ability to move photos between albums and add tags directly from the mobile app.
  • Backup Status Identification: Clearer indication of which photos have already been backed up.
  • "Save to Backup" function: This would solve the duplicate problem when downloading from shared albums.
  • Disable "Partner" feature from UI: Make it harder to accidentally share the whole library with a partner.

5. Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Google Photos Alternative: Users consistently praise Immich as a viable and privacy-respecting alternative to Google Photos.
  • Self-Hosted: The self-hosted nature of the app is a major draw for users who want to control their data.
  • Feature-Rich: Despite some missing features, Immich offers a comprehensive set of features, including AI-powered image tagging, object detection, and reverse geocoding.
  • Active Development: Users appreciate the frequent updates, new features, and responsiveness of the developers.
  • Open Source: The open-source nature of the project is a significant positive for many users.
  • User Interface: The app is generally praised for its clean and intuitive user interface.
  • Easy Setup: Many users report that Immich is easy to set up, especially compared to other self-hosted solutions.
  • Multi-User Support: The ability to support multiple users is a valuable feature.
  • HEIC/HEIF Support: Support for HEIC/HEIF backup is a plus.

6. Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Address Backup Issues: Investigate and resolve the reported backup problems, including freezing, slow upload speeds, and crashes. This is the most critical issue affecting user experience.
  • Improve App Stability: Fix the reported crashes and freezes, particularly on specific devices. Thorough testing on a range of devices is essential.
  • Date/Time Metadata Retention: Ensure downloaded photos retain their original date/time metadata.

Medium Priority:

  • Implement Single Photo Upload: Add the ability to upload individual photos.
  • Enhance Mobile Album Management: Allow users to move photos between albums and add tags directly from the mobile app.
  • Backup Status Identification: Provide a clear indication of which photos have already been backed up.
  • Optimize Performance with Large Libraries: Improve performance when managing large photo and video libraries.
  • Add "Save to Backup" function: To avoid duplicates after downloading from shared albums.
  • Add an option to disable the "Partner" feature from UI: Make it harder to accidentally share the whole library with a partner.

Low Priority:

  • Enhance Photo Editing Features: Add more advanced photo editing capabilities.

7. Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Simplified Immich Hosting Service: A service that provides managed Immich hosting, removing the technical burden of self-hosting. This could be targeted at users who want the benefits of Immich but lack the technical skills to set it up themselves.
  • Immich Plugin Marketplace: A platform where developers can create and share plugins to extend Immich's functionality. This could include plugins for advanced photo editing, integration with other services, or custom AI-powered features.
  • Hardware Appliance for Immich: A pre-configured hardware device (e.g., a small NAS) that comes with Immich pre-installed and optimized. This would provide a plug-and-play solution for self-hosting Immich.

8. Trends and Observations

  • Strong Positive Sentiment: The overwhelming majority of users are highly satisfied with Immich.
  • Google Photos Comparison: A recurring theme is the comparison to Google Photos, with many users explicitly stating that Immich is a better or preferable alternative.
  • Active Development Appreciated: Users consistently mention and appreciate the frequent updates and active development of the project.
  • Technical Proficiency: The user base tends to be more technically proficient than average, given the self-hosting requirement.

9. Conclusion

Immich is a highly successful open-source project that provides a compelling alternative to commercial photo and video backup solutions. The app's strengths lie in its feature set, privacy focus, and active development. The primary challenges are related to bugs, performance issues, and some missing features. By addressing the prioritized action recommendations, the developers can further enhance the user experience and solidify Immich's position as a leading self-hosted photo management solution. Overall, Immich is highly recommended for users seeking a privacy-focused and feature-rich alternative to Google Photos, provided they are comfortable with the technical aspects of self-hosting.

10. Original App Link

https://play.google.com/work/apps/details?id=app.alextran.immich