I've been a loyal user of Google Photos since its debut ten years ago, but lately, I've considered moving to a different service. While I appreciate Google's app, I'm looking for something that emphasizes privacy more. Ente Photos fits that need perfectly.

What Drew Me to Ente Photos

Ente Photos (pronounced en-tay) stands in contrast to Google Photos in several ways. It prioritizes your privacy, is open-source, and encrypts your photos so they aren't used for AI training. This commitment to not scanning or utilizing personal data is why I'm considering leaving Google Photos behind.

The service offers some familiar perks as well. There's 10GB of free storage space and cross-platform availability. Since I use both an Android phone and a MacBook, compatibility across devices is essential for me.

Additionally, you get features reminiscent of Memories, simple sharing and collaboration tools, and a version of AI-powered search.

Another open-source option I looked into was Proton Drive. However, while it's photo management capabilities are growing, I wanted something that centered around photographs.

Setting Up Ente Photos

Setting up Ente Photos is straightforward, with apps available for most platforms and through web browsers. You can easily import your entire image collection from Google Photos, and using the desktop app seems to be the simplest method. Compared to browser or mobile options, it provides more versatile importing choices.

To transfer from Google Photos, first download your images via Google Takeout. Visit the Takeout page, uncheck all except Google Photos, then follow instructions to download them as ZIP files.

The processing time varies; mine took about thirty minutes and resulted in my content spread over sixteen ZIP files.

After downloading, navigate to the desktop app, select Import Your Folders > Google Takeout > Select Zips. Your images will be added to Ente and uploaded to your account. Depending on how many you have, this may take some time.

Some of my uploads failed without clear reason, and clicking "Retry" didn't resolve it. Be mindful of this possibility, as manual uploading might be necessary for those images.

Once completed, you can access your photos on other devices like your phone. They should appear organized with their metadata preserved, sorted into folders you had set up in Google.

Keep in mind, Google Photos will keep backing up your images unless manually turned off.

Comparing Ente With Google Photos

How does Ente Photos stack up against Google Photos? Despite having a poor icon design, it holds up well, albeit differently and with fewer features.

By opting for greater privacy, you sacrifice much of the AI functionality. Natural language search and face detection are present but must be activated, with all processing occurring locally on your device. Additionally, you can add descriptions and tags manually to manage your photo library.

Generally, the experience feels quite similar to Google Photos. It automatically backs up your content, including videos and RAW photos.

It includes a feature akin to Memories, highlighting past moments, organizes photos by theme like sunsets or celebrations, and even has a location function to place your photos on a map.

Sharing photos is straightforward and private. You can share links to images or folders with non-Ente users, although some advanced sharing options require a paid subscription. This limitation stems from their choice not to monetize user data.

The app allows hiding photos for enhanced privacy, secured behind your fingerprint. If desired, you can also lock the whole app.

There are some annoyances. The UI lacks some finesse compared to Google Photos. For instance, deleting images prompts two confirmation boxes, one from Ente and another from Android.

The most significant drawback lies in editing, which could deter many users. Editing options in Ente are minimal—brightness and color adjustments, cropping, and rotating are the only available tools. Missing are advanced features like Magic Eraser, camera-specific enhancements, post-capture portrait blur adjustment, and Pixel Best Take images saved as mini videos.

If these features were crucial, I'd revert to Google Photos. The images remain accessible there; I simply disabled backup.

Should additional space be needed, Ente Photos costs more than Google, though still affordable at lower tiers. 50GB costs $2.99 monthly, or $2.49 annually, but 2TB is priced at $23.99—a cost higher than what Google charges. The complimentary 10GB should suffice for testing whether the app meets your needs.

Will I Stay?

After using Ente Photos as my primary gallery app for about a week, I’ve grown accustomed to its nuances (and limitations), and overall, I’m satisfied.

I haven’t yet taken the plunge to purge my Google Photos account, but thankfully, running both apps concurrently during transition poses no issues. In fact, keeping both permanently could offer the best solution—using Ente for cloud backup and Google for editing. This hybrid approach combines enhanced privacy with full functionality.

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