Ente Photos is the flagship app in the ente/ente monorepo (29k stars; Ente Auth, already listed, is a separate app). Photos and videos are end-to-end encrypted on your device and backed up in the background from Android and iOS, with desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux and a web app. It has face detection, semantic search and collaborative albums. The hosted service is paid beyond 10 GB free; the whole stack, server included, is AGPL-3.0 and can be self-hosted with Docker Compose on 1 GB RAM plus S3-compatible object storage.
Cite this pageRepoQuarry. “Ente Photos.” Checked 16 Oct 2026. https://repoquarry.dev/projects/ente-photos
How much of Google Photos does it replace?
3 of 4 jobs. Encrypted backup, search and sharing; self-host it for free or use Ente's paid cloud.
Confirmed:Automatic phone photo and video backupFull replacement
Confirmed:Search photos by facesFull replacement
Confirmed:Shared albums and linksFull replacement
No:Timeline and map browsingNot covered
For timeline and map browsing, see other Google Photos alternatives. You may also need to build an interface, an API server and hosting yourself.
How much of Dropbox does it replace?
1 of 5 jobs. Replaces camera upload only.
No:Desktop folder sync across devicesNot covered
No:Share links and shared foldersNot covered
No:File version history and recoveryNot covered
No:Browse and manage files in a web appNot covered
Confirmed:Mobile camera upload and backupFull replacement
For desktop folder sync across devices, share links and shared folders, file version history and recovery, browse and manage files in a web app, see other Dropbox alternatives. You may also need to build an interface, an API server and hosting yourself.
Facts, with sources
Every answer links to where we found it. We read the documentation; we did not install it.
Runs on my machine?Confirmed:Self-hosted server with Docker Compose, or Ente's hosted serviceOur entire source code, including the server is open source. This is the same code we use on production.ente.com · self-hosting ↗today
Model weights licenceUnknown:Reviewed Photos ML documentation and model manifests identify on-device models, but do not provide a complete model-weight licence inventory; the app's AGPL licence is not treated as a verified grant for all weightsgithub.com · machine-learning.md ↗today
Paid services needed?Partial:None when self-hosting; Ente's hosted storage is paid beyond 10 GB freeEnte Photos is a paid service, but we offer 10GB of free storage. You can also clone this repository and choose to self-host.github.com · ente#ente-photos ↗today
HardwareConfirmed:Self-hosted server needs at least 1 GB RAM and 1 CPU core, plus object storageA system with at least 1 GB of RAM and 1 CPU coreente.com · self-hosting ↗today
Operating systemsConfirmed:Apps for iOS, Android (incl. F-Droid), web, Windows, macOS and Linuxthe client apps (iOS / Android / F-Droid / Web / Linux / macOS / Windows)github.com · ente#readme ↗today
Setup effortConfirmed:Medium for self-hosting; one quickstart script sets up Docker containers. Easy if using the hosted appsRun this command on your terminal to setup Ente.ente.com · self-hosting ↗today
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