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I use iCloud Photo Library which solves most of your problems except client side encryption - which I agree is a big negative in its corner. It works very well

I use iCloud Photo Library which solves most of your problems except client side encryption - which I agree is a big negative in its corner. It works very well if you're all in in the Apple ecosystem. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264

nlh 8y ago
Ditto here. I know it’s not even close to technically the best or safest or most independent etc. But it really does Just Work. I’ve got basically every photo I’ve taken since ~2002 in a single archive, easily scrollable by date on any of my devices, searchable (on a map!). It works perfectly for me.
apaprocki 8y ago
To more specifically answer OP's questions.. I'm a fellow Arq user. On your mobile devices / laptop(s) you would configure iCloud Photo Library to optimize automatically so that it frees up all the disk space. On a stationary Mac of any flavor, configure it to store the entire repository locally and then run Arq on that computer to back up the entire archive to N providers or your own off-site storage. This does have the slight drawback of requiring a macOS device in order to have the full photo library and run Arq, but paired with the usability of accessing any of your photos on any device securely, you basically get everything you will ever need. This can be something "cheaper" like a used stationary laptop with external SSD attached if necessary, or you can just park a Mac Mini somewhere if you can afford it. Once it's set up, you'll never need to touch a thing and everything will be encrypted before being backed up. (Important distinction: iCloud Photo Library is not backup and explicitly says so.. it is merely the front-end UI for quickly accessing any photo on any device.)
ptoomey3 8y ago
While I voted for google photos in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18770681 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18770681, I will say that apple photos is nice if you have zero need to share a library with family members. For better or worse, apple Unlike third-party uploaders, Apple photos can “cheat” and upload no matter what. That by itself makes it the most reliable for Apple ecosystem folks. That said, I’ve not had any issues in recent history with the google photos uploader.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  When you share more than 2-3 photos at once with others who have iPhones, they get an icloud link where they can not only view the photos, but one-click add them to their own photo library. Have had zero problems keeping my library consistent with my partner's, or sharing lots of family photos at once with other close family who have iPhones.
  - ptoomey3 8y ago
    Manually sharing works ok for super casual use, but it is way too much work when you take pictures daily. Plus, you would need to share photos both directions. And, even if you do all that, which photo library is the “source of truth”? Also, it is my understanding that photos shared through apple’s photo sharing system are not original photos or videos (they are shared at a lower resolution).
    - ptoomey3 8y ago
      I just tried out the shared album thing. I shared a photo whose original size is 3.4MB. The photo you get when you download it from the shared album on iCloud is 925KB. And, I'm pretty sure there is no checkbox you can check to prevent that ‍️. I love lots about the apple ecosystem, but their photo management/sharing system is not one of them. It boggles my mind, as lots of Apple engineers have families. But, despite that, they don't have any system for seamlessly sharing photos (or entire libraries) with family members.
      - toomuchtodo 8y ago
        I agree it's not perfect, but for myself and my family (we all have iPhones, and if you don't have an iPhone in our family, I will happily provide a refurbished one to you) it is superior to all other photo management options out there (Google might shut down Photos one day, Facebook needs no explanation, Smugmug/Flickr UX is woefully inadequate for family photo library management). One day I hope Apple improves delta/library reconciliation, but for now, it's the best I've been able to find. It Just Works (for the most part).

nlh 8y ago

Ditto here. I know it’s not even close to technically the best or safest or most independent etc. But it really does Just Work. I’ve got basically every photo I’ve taken since ~2002 in a single archive, easily scrollable by date on any of my devices, searchable (on a map!). It works perfectly for me.

apaprocki 8y ago

To more specifically answer OP's questions.. I'm a fellow Arq user. On your mobile devices / laptop(s) you would configure iCloud Photo Library to optimize automatically so that it frees up all the disk space. On a stationary Mac of any flavor, configure it to store the entire repository locally and then run Arq on that computer to back up the entire archive to N providers or your own off-site storage. This does have the slight drawback of requiring a macOS device in order to have the full photo library and run Arq, but paired with the usability of accessing any of your photos on any device securely, you basically get everything you will ever need. This can be something "cheaper" like a used stationary laptop with external SSD attached if necessary, or you can just park a Mac Mini somewhere if you can afford it. Once it's set up, you'll never need to touch a thing and everything will be encrypted before being backed up. (Important distinction: iCloud Photo Library is not backup and explicitly says so.. it is merely the front-end UI for quickly accessing any photo on any device.)

ptoomey3 8y ago

While I voted for google photos in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18770681 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18770681, I will say that apple photos is nice if you have zero need to share a library with family members. For better or worse, apple Unlike third-party uploaders, Apple photos can “cheat” and upload no matter what. That by itself makes it the most reliable for Apple ecosystem folks. That said, I’ve not had any issues in recent history with the google photos uploader.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
When you share more than 2-3 photos at once with others who have iPhones, they get an icloud link where they can not only view the photos, but one-click add them to their own photo library. Have had zero problems keeping my library consistent with my partner's, or sharing lots of family photos at once with other close family who have iPhones.
- ptoomey3 8y ago
  Manually sharing works ok for super casual use, but it is way too much work when you take pictures daily. Plus, you would need to share photos both directions. And, even if you do all that, which photo library is the “source of truth”? Also, it is my understanding that photos shared through apple’s photo sharing system are not original photos or videos (they are shared at a lower resolution).
  - ptoomey3 8y ago
    I just tried out the shared album thing. I shared a photo whose original size is 3.4MB. The photo you get when you download it from the shared album on iCloud is 925KB. And, I'm pretty sure there is no checkbox you can check to prevent that ‍️. I love lots about the apple ecosystem, but their photo management/sharing system is not one of them. It boggles my mind, as lots of Apple engineers have families. But, despite that, they don't have any system for seamlessly sharing photos (or entire libraries) with family members.
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      I agree it's not perfect, but for myself and my family (we all have iPhones, and if you don't have an iPhone in our family, I will happily provide a refurbished one to you) it is superior to all other photo management options out there (Google might shut down Photos one day, Facebook needs no explanation, Smugmug/Flickr UX is woefully inadequate for family photo library management). One day I hope Apple improves delta/library reconciliation, but for now, it's the best I've been able to find. It Just Works (for the most part).