Archibou does the same job as Google Photos — automatically backing up your photos and finding them anywhere — with three concrete differences: quality, hosting, and business model.
Your photos in original quality
In Saver mode (the default setting), Google Photos compresses your photos to save space. Keeping the original requires explicitly enabling Original quality, which quickly eats into the shared account quota.
With Archibou, there is no setting to hunt for: your photos are kept as-is, including RAW and high-resolution files.
Hosted in France, under European jurisdiction
Your files are stored on servers in France, under European jurisdiction, and served by Nextcloud, an auditable open-source software. No hosting transfers to jurisdictions outside the EU.
A model with no advertising
Archibou is a paid service with straightforward pricing, starting at €2/month: you are a customer, not an audience. Your photos are used neither for ad targeting nor for training models.
It works the way you are used to
- Automatic backup from the mobile app, over Wi-Fi if you prefer
- Access anywhere: web, mobile, synced desktop
- Sharing via link with password and expiry date, or with other users
- Albums and search by date and place
Migrate in 3 steps
- Export your photos with Google Takeout
- Import them into Archibou (drag and drop on the web or folder sync)
- Enable automatic backup and turn off Google Photos backup
See also: “How do I get my photos back from Google Photos?” and “Does Archibou work like Google Photos?”