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Why I Don't Use Google Photos (And What I Built Instead)

A privacy-focused developer's honest take on cloud photo storage and the alternative nobody talks about

January 25, 2025
9 min read
Vishal V Shekkar
Google Photos privacy cloud storage comparison local processing

I'm going to say something that might sound crazy: Google Photos is an incredible product.

The unlimited free storage (before 2021), the AI search that actually works, the automatic organization, the sharing features—it's legitimately impressive technology. Millions of people use it and love it.

I used to be one of them. Now I'm not. Here's why.

The Moment I Stopped

It was 2022. I was showing my wife some photos from a vacation we took years ago. I typed "beach sunset" into Google Photos search, and boom—there they were, perfectly categorized.

Then I stopped. How does it know these are beaches? And sunsets?

My wife shrugged. "That's the AI, right?"

Yeah. The AI. Running on Google's servers. Analyzing every photo and video I've ever taken. Learning from them. Building a profile of my life, my family, my home, my routines.

I felt sick.

Not because Google is evil (they're not), but because I realized I had casually uploaded the most intimate details of my life to a company whose business model is... well, knowing things about people.

Let's Be Honest About What Google Photos Actually Is

Google Photos isn't a photo storage app. It's a data collection tool that happens to store photos.

Here's what happens when you use Google Photos:

  1. You upload your photos and videos
  2. Google's AI analyzes them:
    • Facial recognition (who you know)
    • Location data (where you go)
    • Object recognition (what you own, do, eat)
    • Scene analysis (your lifestyle and habits)
  3. This data feeds Google's advertising profile of you
  4. That profile is worth money to advertisers

Google Photos isn't free. You're paying with your data.

"But I Have Nothing to Hide"

I hear this all the time. I used to say it myself.

Then I thought about what's actually in my photo library:

  • Photos of my home (exterior and interior layouts)
  • Pictures of my kids (their faces, schools, activities)
  • Screenshots of documents (sometimes with sensitive info)
  • Photos of my car and license plate
  • Birthday parties (showing who we associate with)
  • Vacation photos (showing when we're away from home)
  • Medical photos (health conditions, medications)
  • Photos of passwords or credit cards (for "temporary" reference)

Do I have something to hide? No. Do I want Google analyzing all of this to sell ads better? Also no.

The Privacy Trade-offs Nobody Discusses

Let me be clear: I'm not a tinfoil-hat privacy extremist. I use Gmail. I have an Android tablet. I'm typing this on a Mac that's probably collecting telemetry.

But there are levels of privacy, and your photo library is intimate in a way that email isn't.

Questions I started asking:

  1. Facial recognition: Google knows what my kids look like. What happens when that data exists in 20 years? Who else gets access?

  2. Location history: Google knows everywhere I've ever taken a photo. That's a complete map of my life. What happens if that leaks?

  3. Behavioral patterns: Google can analyze my photo-taking habits. They know when I'm home, when I travel, how often I go out. This feels... different than search history.

  4. Forever data: I can't actually delete photos from Google's systems. Sure, I can delete them from my account, but those images were already analyzed. The data already extracted. The models already trained on them.

  5. Terms changes: Google changed their policy in 2021 (ending unlimited free storage). What other terms might change? Could they start charging for access to my own photos?

"But Apple iCloud Photos Is the Same!"

This is where people usually say, "Well, iCloud Photos does the same thing!"

Not quite.

Apple's business model is selling devices, not ads. Their privacy policy explicitly states they don't analyze your photos for advertising. The facial recognition happens on-device, not in the cloud.

Is Apple perfect? No. Do I trust them more with my photos than Google? Yeah, I do.

But iCloud has a different problem: cost.

The iCloud Cost Trap

Apple's iCloud pricing:

  • 5GB: Free (enough for ~1,000 photos, no videos)
  • 50GB: $0.99/month ($12/year)
  • 200GB: $2.99/month ($36/year)
  • 2TB: $9.99/month ($120/year)

For a family with kids, pets, and decent video habits, you're on the 200GB-2TB plan. That's $36-120/year, forever.

Over 10 years, that's $360-$1,200 for storage that costs Apple maybe $5/year to provide.

Why "Just Use Local Storage" Doesn't Work

The obvious solution: Don't use cloud storage at all. Keep everything local.

Problems:

  1. Phone lost/broken = memories gone - This is terrifying for most people
  2. No cross-device access - Can't view phone photos on iPad/Mac easily
  3. Manual backup required - Who actually does this consistently?
  4. Device upgrades are painful - Transferring 100GB+ of photos takes forever

Local-only works for tech-savvy people with good backup habits. For everyone else, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

The Solution Nobody Talks About: Compress First, Then Cloud

This is what I do now, and it's why I built Bonsai:

The workflow:

  1. Take photos and videos normally
  2. Once a month, compress old videos (1+ month old)
  3. Keep compressed versions in iCloud
  4. Archive original quality versions to local external drive (quarterly)
  5. Stay on free or cheap iCloud tier

The result:

  • Photos and videos backed up to cloud: ✓
  • Access across all devices: ✓
  • Privacy (on-device compression): ✓
  • Low/no monthly cost: ✓
  • Original quality preserved (on external drive): ✓

This is the approach Bonsai enables. Process locally, cloud becomes affordable, privacy maintained.

The Four Questions That Changed My Mind

When I was deciding whether to leave Google Photos, I asked myself these questions. They clarified everything:

1. "Would I let a stranger look through all my photos?"

No? Then why let Google's AI do it?

2. "Do I actually need the AI features?"

Honest answer: Not really. I thought I did, but when I switched away, I didn't miss them. I know roughly when and where I took photos. Scrolling through a month is fine.

3. "What's the worst case scenario?"

With Google Photos: Data breach, leak, terms change, account locked, company pivots.

With local/iCloud approach: Phone lost (but backed up), have to pay for storage (but controlled cost), extra effort for compression (automated with Bonsai).

The Google Photos worst case felt scarier.

4. "What would I tell my kids to do?"

This is the one that sealed it. If my kids asked me in 10 years what to do with their photos, would I tell them to upload everything to an advertising company?

No. I'd tell them to keep control of their data and find cheaper, private alternatives.

So I should do that too.

What I Actually Use Now

My current setup:

  1. iPhone Photos app (default camera)
  2. Bonsai (monthly compression of videos)
  3. iCloud Photos with "Optimize Storage" (50GB plan, $12/year)
  4. Synology NAS at home (one-time $300, stores original quality backups)
  5. External SSD (yearly backup of NAS, kept at my parents' house for redundancy)

Total annual cost: $12 (vs $120/year I was heading toward with iCloud, vs $0 but selling my data to Google)

Privacy: Photos never leave my devices except for iCloud (which doesn't analyze them for ads)

Backup redundancy: iCloud + NAS + external drive = triple backup

Effort: ~15 minutes per month

Is This Too Much Effort?

Maybe. Depends on your priorities.

If you value convenience over privacy and cost, Google Photos is great. Genuinely. It's well-designed and works seamlessly.

But if you're like me—uncomfortable with AI analyzing your family photos, annoyed by increasing cloud costs, and willing to spend 15 minutes a month to avoid both—there's a better way.

What About Google Photos' Other Features?

Let me address the features people say they "can't live without":

"But the AI search is so good!"

True. But how often do you actually use it? I thought I used it all the time. When I looked at my history, it was maybe twice a month. And iOS Photos search has gotten pretty decent too.

"But the shared albums are seamless!"

Also true. But iCloud shared albums work fine. WhatsApp/Telegram also work for quick sharing. It's not as magical, but it's functional.

"But the Memories and animations are beautiful!"

They are! But iOS Photos does this too now. Not quite as good, but close enough.

"But it's FREE!"

It's not. You're paying with:

  1. Your privacy (data analyzed for ads)
  2. Your time (watching more targeted ads)
  3. Your peace of mind (worrying about data breaches)
  4. Your future (being locked into an ecosystem)

For me, $12/year is worth avoiding all that.

When Google Photos Actually Makes Sense

I'm not here to tell everyone to quit Google Photos. For some people, it's the right choice:

Use Google Photos if:

  • You don't care about photo privacy
  • You're already deep in Google ecosystem
  • You take mostly photos, not videos
  • You have slow/unstable home internet (can't backup locally easily)
  • You absolutely need the AI search features for work
  • You're not technical and want zero-effort solution

There's no shame in this. Different priorities are valid.

Why I Built Bonsai

The whole Google Photos reflection started when I was on the 2TB iCloud plan ($120/year) because of videos.

I wanted:

  • Privacy of local processing (like iOS Photos)
  • Affordability of free/cheap cloud (unlike bloated iCloud)
  • Convenience of automatic processing (like Google Photos)
  • Control over my own data (unlike Google Photos)

Nothing did this. So I built Bonsai.

It compresses videos locally (privacy ✓), makes cloud storage affordable (cost ✓), runs automatically on schedule (convenience ✓), and everything stays under my control (ownership ✓).

I built it for myself first. Then I realized others might want the same thing.

The Bottom Line

Google Photos is a great product built on a business model I don't want to support with my family's photos.

iCloud Photos is fine but expensive if you have videos.

The alternative—compress locally, cloud becomes affordable, privacy maintained—works better for me.

It's not for everyone. But if you've ever felt weird about Google analyzing your photos, or annoyed by iCloud storage costs, maybe it's worth trying.

Your memories are too important to be advertising data. They're also too important to be prohibitively expensive to store.

There's a middle path. It just takes 15 minutes a month.

Want to try the local-processing approach? Start with Bonsai's free tier (10 conversions). Compress your oldest videos, see the quality for yourself, and check if staying on a cheaper iCloud plan becomes possible.