The European alternative to Google Photos
Google Photos is convenient — until you stop and think about where your entire photo life lives, who can look into it and what happens to it. Ohhi is the European alternative: your archive and your circle, under European law, with no business model built on your data.
With Ohhi, your photos and videos sit on servers inside the European Union, at a Dutch company, with no American parent company subject to other laws. And because you are the customer rather than the product, nothing needs to happen to your pictures except what you want: keeping them, and sharing them with the people you care about.
Ohhi next to Google Photos
| Aspect | Google Photos | Ohhi |
|---|---|---|
| Business model | Free up to 15 GB (shared with Gmail and Drive), then a Google One subscription | Subscriptions — watching and reacting is free |
| Jurisdiction | American company (Google), subject to i.a. the US CLOUD Act | Dutch company, servers in the EU, Dutch and European law |
| Analysis of your photos | Photos are analysed for search, grouping and suggestions | Only optional face clustering for your own archive; never AI training |
| Quality | In Storage saver mode, photos and videos are compressed | Photos and videos stay in original quality |
| Design | A personal archive; sharing per album or via a link | Built around your own circle: shared albums with roles and reactions |
Why people leave Google Photos
Most people don't leave for one big reason but for the sum of small ones. The free 15 GB fills up and you end up paying for a subscription anyway. Your entire photo life hangs on a single Google account. And you know your pictures are being analysed — useful for search, but it is still someone else's software going through your private photos.
If you are going to pay for your photo archive anyway, you might as well pay a service that keeps your pictures in the EU, does no AI training, and treats sharing with your family as the whole point rather than an extra feature.
Switching: taking your photos with you
Your photos are not locked in at Google. With Google Takeout you download all your originals in one go, dates and locations included. You then bring them into Ohhi, build albums and invite your circle. A big collection doesn't have to move in one evening: start with the album you want to share now and work backwards.
What Ohhi deliberately does differently
Ohhi is not a copy of Google Photos minus Google. There is no algorithm deciding what you get to see and no 'memories' carousel built on analysis. There are albums you share with roles, reactions from your own circle, a map of your trips, and one subscription you share with up to six accounts — grandparents included.
Also read: why we never train AI on your photos
Frequently asked questions
Is Ohhi a full alternative to Google Photos?
For storing, organising and sharing family photos and videos: yes. You get iOS and Android apps, albums, a map view of your trips and optional face clustering for your own archive. What we deliberately don't rebuild is the rest of the Google ecosystem.
How do I get my photos out of Google Photos?
With Google Takeout you download all your original photos and videos in one go. Then you upload them to Ohhi and build your albums with your own circle around them. Metadata such as dates and locations travels along.
Does Ohhi analyse my photos?
Only for you. Face clustering is off by default and, if you switch it on, works exclusively within your own archive. Your photos are never used to train AI models and never shared with third parties.
What does Ohhi cost?
Watching and reacting is free. If you want to share photos and videos yourself, paid plans start at €6 per year. One subscription can be shared with up to six accounts.
Can my family watch for free?
Yes. An account for watching and reacting costs nothing, so you don't have to convince anyone to pay before they can see your album.
Google Photos, Google One and Google Takeout are trademarks of Google LLC. Ohhi is not affiliated with Google. The comparison above is based on public information about both services and was last checked in July 2026.