I have switched most of my daily apps to FOSS alternatives or privacy adhering closed apps, however I cannot find a suitable replacement to Google Photos, at least not without significant compromises.
My key factor to choosing an appropriate alternative to app is its UI, which you may think has nothing to do with privacy. But as it turns out, there are plenty of alternative apps that I could switch to, which makes it difficult for me as a layman FOSS user to choose from. So naturally I would to resort to the option that looks and behaves similar to the original app the most. As said before, I haven't faced a problem in switching in the case of other apps, but for some unknown reason I cannot find a good Photos alternative for myself anywhere.
Does anyone know the app I am looking for? I am still open to using apps that provide greater functionalities if it comes at the cost of appearance. it is just that I don't wish to use a 10-year old looking software for a core purpose of my new phone. Apart from the UI, I just need the app to have local functionality since I don't really back my photos in the cloud.
Edit: I don't have the facility to self host, thus I would be avoiding apps that only rely on self hosting images
I've not used it yet, but I plan to try photoprism at some point.
E: ah, just saw your edit about self host, sorry.
Not open source but Synology photos is probably as close as you can get to a Google photos experience. Of course you need a Synology nas.
Have you tried Immich? It has a very similar feel to Google Photos but with the advantage of owning your storage.
I like the direction it's headed in... but the name and logo 🫠 (not to it's detriment at all... just not it.)
Same here, the app is brilliant and I use it to backup and host all my personal photos - but the name & logo leave something to be desired.
I can't see myself saying "I use Immich". It feels like something that's a local cultural name instead of a brand name... you know?
This is just a nitpick tho...
I don't see any connection with cultures. It's just "image" slightly mispronounced, I think.