Ente Photos

End-to-end encrypted photo backup and sharing.

Instead of Google Photos, iCloud Photos

ente.io

Screenshot from ente.io, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.

Sharing a holiday album with a grandparent who has no account and no wish to make one is the kind of moment Ente is built for, and sharing an album with someone who has no account works. Ente backs up and shares your pictures across devices, except the photos are encrypted before they leave your phone so only you can see them. The apps are open source on every platform, you can run the server yourself, and it runs on Android, iOS, the web and the desktop.

Ente Photos scores a 5 on self-direction, a 4 on lock-in, power, longevity and delivery and a 3 on footprint.

It reads simply. Photos in the cloud carry a real physical footprint, and most people will pay for storage, so it lands just short of the top band.

What stands out

• Encrypts photos before they leave your phone, so only you can see them
• Open-source apps on every platform, and you can run the server yourself
• Sharing an album works for people with no account

Side by side. Ente Photos vs Google Photos

For comparison, we also reviewed Google Photos (16/30) as a benchmark.