The Blog
5 Best Apps for Storing Photos
Whether you’re a professional photographer or you just like to document the moments in your life with your phone’s camera, you’ve almost certainly found yourself in need of a way to neatly organize and efficiently store your photos. 20 years ago, you might have done this by printing your most special photos and keeping them in your wallet, and dividing the rest into several different bulky scrapbooks. Today, all you need is the right app to fit your individual circumstances. We’ve tested out a variety of these photo storage apps and put together a list of the 5 best apps to fit a range of photo-storing needs.
#5: Snapfish
The cool thing about Snapfish is that its main function is to create an easy environment for printing your photos, so it comes with 50 free photo prints per month upon creating an account. For those only looking to store photos instead of printing, it works perfectly for that function, too—the option to print can just be a nice bonus. The app is user-friendly and includes basic editing tools to improve the look of your photos. Snapfish allows for free unlimited storage at full resolution. The downside is that each photo you want to upload will need to be manually selected, instead of being able to automatically upload of all your photos. If you have thousands of photos on your camera roll and want to store all of them, this app might not be the best for you, but if you’re selective about the photos you want to store, it would be a great fit. This one is probably best for professional photographers uploading one album at a time, especially since you can store everything at full resolution.
#4: DropBox
DropBox has been around for a long time and seems to be the original popular storage app. This is for good reason—it’s simple, user-friendly, and free. Of course, it’s important to know that storage space in DropBox is only free up to 2GB, but you can increase storage space for free by completing the introductory guide, referring friends, or contributing to the Community forum. There are also paid plans available for a maximum storage limit of 1TB. Like SnapFish, DropBox doesn’t allow for automatic uploads, so you'll have to manually select the photos you upload. DropBox is a mobile app, but it can also be downloaded on a tablet, desktop computer, or laptop for easy accessibility across a variety of platforms.
#3: Microsoft OneDrive
You don’t need to have a Microsoft device to download this app. OneDrive provides 5GB of free storage with an option to pay for more storage. If money isn't an issue, this app is nice because more features become available to you as you pay more. OneDrive does allow for automatic uploads, which is perfect for those who have thousands of photos they need to store. On OneDrive, you can view the camera setting info for each photo, create albums, and rename & share photos. The downside with this app, besides the limit on free storage space, is that there are no photo editing options within the app.
#2: Amazon Photos
This app is limited to Amazon customers, but it’s open to both regular and Prime members: all Amazon customers get 5GB of free storage, while Amazon Prime members get unlimited storage for photos and 5GB of video storage. This free app has a Family Vault feature, which allows up to 5 family members to contribute photos. It's very easy to navigate through the app; the best part is that pictures and videos from your camera roll can be quickly and automatically backed up without you needing to manually select anything. Amazon Photos includes editing tools and preset filters, and can be used on mobile devices as well as desktops. It also links with your Amazon account so you can easily order prints, calendars, and other products that include your photos.
#1: Google Photos
Google Photos is an extremely popular choice for people who have a large amount of photos that they want to efficiently organize and store. It provides unlimited free storage and not only allows you to create collages, animations, and albums, but it will surprise you by spontaneously creating animations and filtered photos for you! There is a limit on the photo and video resolutions, however: photos are limited to 16MP each and videos are limited to 1080p and 15 minutes long. This is fine for the average user, but might not be the best app for professional photographers. You can upload photos and videos with higher resolutions, but it will take up space on your Google Drive (which allows for 15GB of free storage). Google Photos allows for fast automatic uploading when your device is connected to WiFi, so you don’t need to manually select anything from your camera roll. It’s also very user-friendly and comes with basic editing features and options for easy sharing between users. Best of all, it cleverly scans your photos for settings and objects so that you can search photos by keyword without needing to tag each photo. This feature is what makes Google Photos our #1 app for storing photos—it's so easy to organize everything that this app is the most convenient option for the majority of people.
The Consensus
There’s a huge list of options out there for storing your photos, and it can be overwhelming to search through all of them and decide which app is best for you. This list can help you easily decide which is best for your needs, and each of these top 5 apps will allow you to get the most amount of features for the least amount of money. Gone are the days when you clutter up your wallet with photos—just download an app and view all your photos anytime, anywhere.
If you’re interested in really cleaning out and organizing your wallet, look at our posts on the best apps for storing receipts and how to minimize your everyday carry. And feel free to check out our line of slim, minimal wallets here.
