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Amazon photos to replace iCloud questions.

russell_314

russell_314

macrumors 604
Original poster
Feb 10, 2019
7,097
10,950
USA
I’m thinking about switching off iCloud and going to Amazon photos with the Apple privacy debacle going on. Yes I know my photos will be scanned on Amazon servers and I’m OK with that. I also know that this probably won’t prevent Apple doing their on device scanning so won’t make a real difference but just a way for me thumb my nose to Apple.

Has anyone here used Amazon photos? I’m just looking for experiences of people here and how it compares to iCloud photos.

I would be on the $1.99 per month plan so it seems cheap. It says it stores “full resolution photos” but does that change the format from HEIC on the iPhone to something like JPG and would that mean a quality loss?
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78771798-877E-4399-9BED-6D7A21B3A9E1.jpeg
 
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Well I guess no one here is using this. I just canceled my Apple one subscription that expires on the 2nd. Once I get this thing fully transferred over I will report back to let everyone know how this works. I think I’m going to make a local back up just in case something goes wrong and I lose my pictures
 
Full resolution photos means it’s the original file instead of converting it to a lower quality file. If the image is HEIC, it will still be HEIC.
 
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Note: if you turn off photo iCloud and the photos are still on your phone they seem to get included in documents so your overall iCloud storage does not decrease as they are then included in your backup size.
 
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keeper said:
Note: if you turn off photo iCloud and the photos are still on your phone they seem to get included in documents so your overall iCloud storage does not decrease as they are then included in your backup size.
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The plan is to eventually shut off iCloud once I get other backup systems in place. Now to figure out what to replace Apple Music with before the 2nd rolls around LOL
 
zorinlynx said:
Despite the controversy surrounding Apple lately, I'm really surprised anyone would trust freaking AMAZON over Apple.

Hell I'd even go with Google before letting Bezos touch my stuff.
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It really is weird to see people skeptical of Apples speculated privacy issues turn to Amazon or Google (or some 3rd party Photo Dump site) for safely storing their personal photos.

I tested Amazon Photos and its not bad as a photo backup but there just isn’t anything better than iCloud Photos when it comes to the convenience of sync between devices on the same AppleID. (Family sharing is another story because this is another area where Apple clearly doesnt care about families. $10/mo Shared Family Storage but no Shared Family Photo Library is ridiculous)
 
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I went to the paid version of Google Photos a few years back and I find it very good. Privacy is another issue but I detest Amazon for a few key reasons. Apple needs to be given the big middle finger and it is encouraging to see how many are now doing so.
 
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Can't speak to it as a replacement for iCloud (Photos), but Amazon Photos is easily the best value in photo backup assuming you're already paying for (or could make us of) Amazon Prime (as you get unlimited full resolution photos.)
It's hard to argue with unlimited photo storage. I use it both personally and professionally and its never let me down so far.
For those considering moving off iCloud though I will say, be sure you have a good off-site backup plan for your photos. How much you choose to trust the various cloud/online backup providers is up to you, but don't think your photos are safe if they only place you store them is your house. You can always set up your own off-site backup if you're willing to put in some work, and either way, its worth the peace of mind regardless of whether you ever end up needing it (hopefully you never will.)
 
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KittyKatta said:
It really is weird to see people skeptical of Apples speculated privacy issues turn to Amazon or Google (or some 3rd party Photo Dump site) for safely storing their personal photos.

I tested Amazon Photos and its not bad as a photo backup but there just isn’t anything better than iCloud Photos when it comes to the convenience of sync between devices on the same AppleID. (Family sharing is another story because this is another area where Apple clearly doesnt care about families. $10/mo Shared Family Storage but no Shared Family Photo Library is ridiculous)
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The main thing other services can't compete with is edit syncing. You can edit a photo on any device, and the edits will sync to every other device. And they sync as the individual non-destructive edits, so you can crop a photo on one device, adjust the brightness on a second device, then adjust the crop on a third device, and all three devices will show the edits as you made them.

When you sync to third party services, you can't use the awesome built in editing on your phone if you want it to sync; you have to use the editing on the third party services, which tends to not be as good as Apple's.

So yeah, I'm going to keep using iCloud Photos.
 
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zorinlynx said:
Despite the controversy surrounding Apple lately, I'm really surprised anyone would trust freaking AMAZON over Apple.

Hell I'd even go with Google before letting Bezos touch my stuff.
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Apple has lost all trust I've had with them. Was it just last year or maybe earlier they were telling governments they couldn't give them access to iPhone and posting what's on your iPhone stays on your iPhone and now they install a backdoor? Trust is based on past actions to include recent ones. You can't just say well they were great till they did ___. Right now they're a little less than Google or Amazon when it comes to trust for me. Why? Because I know Google and Amazon are selling my data. They haven't flip flopped on this. Apple just did a 180 when it comes to privacy so right now I don't know what else they would do.
 
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KittyKatta said:
It really is weird to see people skeptical of Apples speculated privacy issues turn to Amazon or Google (or some 3rd party Photo Dump site) for safely storing their personal photos.

I tested Amazon Photos and its not bad as a photo backup but there just isn’t anything better than iCloud Photos when it comes to the convenience of sync between devices on the same AppleID. (Family sharing is another story because this is another area where Apple clearly doesnt care about families. $10/mo Shared Family Storage but no Shared Family Photo Library is ridiculous)
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They're adding a capability to remotely access files on the iPhone. That's not speculation but fact. I understand the shared family thing but that wouldn't make a difference with me. I can understand that being a consideration for some though.

I don't think this would change any access they have to my iPhone and since the worst thing in my photos are offensive memes I'm not worried about current CSAM issues. I'll straight up say people who have that are disgusting... It's just me using my wallet to tell Apple what I think about what they're doing. Will it make a difference probably not because even if they lost a bunch of money this backdoor has been something countries like the USA and China have been pushing hard for.
 
BigMcGuire said:
Apple has been run by the same people for awhile now. While you have the right to your opinion, comparing Apple to a company that sells your all private data to the highest bidder is hardly fair. People confuse me with this type of reaction. Apple’s decision to do this was based on keeping the data in cloud encrypted whereas Google will decrypt your data to scan it or let others benefit from the scan of it. Interesting. People are interesting. If it makes you feel better more power to you. Competition is a great thing for us consumers.
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We all have opinions. I’m not going to turn into an apple hater because I understand why they did this but as a consumer I’m going to express my likes and dislikes with my wallet. All consumers should do this. I think most people think well all my information is out there so it doesn’t matter. Even with some of those people this has hurt Apple because some people felt Apple was superior when it comes to privacy but I don’t think they feel that way anymore. They’ve lost their golden child status.

The problem is Apple decided to champion the privacy cause when they realized it was a strong selling point. People believed them after a while because their actions we’re really privacy focused. I’m fairly certain that this was in response to a government(s) who told him either you’re going to do this or we’re going to take action against you. There’s no way Apple planned this because they would’ve never put that stupid billboard out there.
 
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russell_314 said:
I’m thinking about switching off iCloud and going to Amazon photos with the Apple privacy debacle going on. Yes I know my photos will be scanned on Amazon servers and I’m OK with that. I also know that this probably won’t prevent Apple doing their on device scanning so won’t make a real difference but just a way for me thumb my nose to Apple.

Has anyone here used Amazon photos? I’m just looking for experiences of people here and how it compares to iCloud photos.

I would be on the $1.99 per month plan so it seems cheap. It says it stores “full resolution photos” but does that change the format from HEIC on the iPhone to something like JPG and would that mean a quality loss?
.
View attachment 1824682
Click to expand...

I have used them in the past. I had no issues with them during that time and uptime was very good.
Amazon scans on share.
 
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russell_314 said:
We all have opinions. I’m not going to turn into an apple hater because I understand why they did this but as a consumer I’m going to express my likes and dislikes with my wallet. All consumers should do this. I think most people think well all my information is out there so it doesn’t matter. Even with some of those people this has hurt Apple because some people felt Apple was superior when it comes to privacy but I don’t think they feel that way anymore. They’ve lost their golden child status.

The problem is Apple decided to champion the privacy cause when they realized it was a strong selling point. People believed them after a while because their actions we’re really privacy focused. I’m fairly certain that this was in response to a government(s) who told him either you’re going to do this or we’re going to take action against you. There’s no way Apple planned this because they would’ve never put that stupid billboard out there.
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Having used both Amazon and Google - I highly recommend Google Photos. Far more accessible with many features - finding photos is super easy (especially online). I loved the ability to clear photos locally but keep them backed up in the cloud. While Amazon's photo offering has improved, imo, Google is far better.
 
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KittyKatta said:
It really is weird to see people skeptical of Apples speculated privacy issues turn to Amazon or Google (or some 3rd party Photo Dump site) for safely storing their personal photos.

I tested Amazon Photos and its not bad as a photo backup but there just isn’t anything better than iCloud Photos when it comes to the convenience of sync between devices on the same AppleID. (Family sharing is another story because this is another area where Apple clearly doesnt care about families. $10/mo Shared Family Storage but no Shared Family Photo Library is ridiculous)
Click to expand...
I could never get away from the ability to have all my photos across my MacBooks, iPad, and iPhone - and making a change to one, instantly available on all the others. Sharing is definitely a huge negative about iCloud Photos - something Google gets right.

Google Photos is probably the second bet if I had to move - I really like how I can share all my photos with my spouse.
 
icanhazmac said:
I'll be cancelling my iCloud sub and storing my pics on a Synology NAS
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I can't imagine ever going back to local storage - I like that when I'm out and about taking photos of important events, it's being instantly backed up so that if my iPhone is stolen or decides to randomly crap out, those photos won't be lost. Or say if I'm out on vacation or what not - no need to wait till I go home to store my photos. Maybe Arq with an encrypted BackBlaze B2 backup?

While I realize this is the ultimate privacy move - and I can definitely nod your direction for having the willpower to do this, I don't think I could do this anymore. The convenience of sharing my photos, having them backed up, and easily accessible across an array of devices is just too convenient and time saving.
 
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russell_314 said:
I’m thinking about switching off iCloud and going to Amazon photos with the Apple privacy debacle going on. Yes I know my photos will be scanned on Amazon servers and I’m OK with that. I also know that this probably won’t prevent Apple doing their on device scanning so won’t make a real difference but just a way for me thumb my nose to Apple.

Has anyone here used Amazon photos? I’m just looking for experiences of people here and how it compares to iCloud photos.

I would be on the $1.99 per month plan so it seems cheap. It says it stores “full resolution photos” but does that change the format from HEIC on the iPhone to something like JPG and would that mean a quality loss?
.
View attachment 1824682
Click to expand...
I'm curious how many photos you have to move? I have about 56,000 photos and videos on my iPhone. I've moved these photos from Google to OneDrive to Amazon (not in that order) - settling on iCloud (2 years ago) over the past 6 years. Made my phone super hot and takes a day or two but eventually it works (FIOS ftw).
 
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russell_314 said:
Is there a guide to do this somewhere online?
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Refer here

Synology Photos Quick Start Guide - Synology Knowledge Center

Synology Knowledge Center offers comprehensive support, providing answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need.
kb.synology.com kb.synology.com

They have lots of content on youtube

Synology Events

Synology Events
event.synology.com event.synology.com

I uploaded via my iPhone. Everyone in the house has a separate area on the NAS accessed with 2 factor authentication.
I replaced iCloud backup with Synology C2 https://c2.synology.com/en-us/storage/personal/overview

I also back up to https://www.idrive.com but its better to renew yearly as they offer very cheap deals to new users.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
I'm curious how many photos you have to move? I have about 56,000 photos and videos on my iPhone. I've moved these photos from Google to OneDrive to Amazon (not in that order) - settling on iCloud (2 years ago) over the past 6 years. Made my phone super hot and takes a day or two but eventually it works (FIOS ftw).
Click to expand...
Not quite that many. I have "only" a little over 10k photos. I just want to make sure I have some type of backup that preserves the original quality photo. I bet if I go through them I could delete 1k because of old screenshots and memes. I used to be a hobbyist photographer in the 35mm days but the phone camera just doesn't feel the same to me when it comes to a hobby.
 
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