Ever since Apple announced the CSAM photo scanning feature that will be enabled by default for all iCloud Photos users in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, controversy seems to have engulfed the cloud photo storage service. Such has been the widespread fear about the privacy-intrusive photo scanning that Apple has been forced to come up with a detailed clarification. The company asserts that photo scanning involves an on-device matching process powered by cryptographic technology. It determines if there is a match without revealing the results. If you still feel apprehensive about your privacy and are looking for a new service to store, sync, and organize your photos in the cloud, check out these 7 best iCloud Photos alternatives for iPhone and iPad. 

Before exploring the roundup, it would be apt to jot down the features you are looking for in your favorite iCloud Photos substitute for your iPhone or iPad.

What Sort of iCloud Photos Replacement Are You Looking for? 

It’s worth keeping in mind that all major cloud services have the same scanning feature. The only difference is that they do the entire scanning completely in the cloud, while iCloud Photos opts for a custom on-device and cloud scanning. But bother not, if you are looking for a life beyond this kind of scanning, then NAS (stands for network-attached storage) or an end-to-end encrypted backup service would be better suited for your needs.

1. Google Photos

If you need a reliable cloud photo storage solution with plenty of free storage, Google Photos is your best bet. Widely considered to be the best photo storage service across platforms, Google’s Photos app is feature-rich and offers a ton of handy tools to help keep your memories organized. The automatic albums make it easy to keep images organized. Moreover, the Google Photos app also automatically saves photos and videos to the cloud and syncs them across all your devices. That means you will have access to all your content across devices.

Google Photos automatically creates movies, collages, and fun-loving GIFs to make viewing your memories a pleasing experience. If you don’t find the ready-made movies in line with your taste, you can use the native photo and video editing tools to create stunning clips yourself.

Unlike iCloud Photos, it’s available across platforms so that you can view and manage your photos without any restrictions. Notably, you can also directly transfer your iCloud Photos to Google Photos, courtesy of a new feature that Apple introduced recently. Do note that Google Photos offers 15GB of free storage that is shared across other Google services like Gmail and Google Drive. If you want to remove the storage limitation, you will need to opt for a premium plan, which starts at $1.99/month for 100GB cloud storage. 

Pros

Cons

Install Google Photos (Free, up to 15GB free storage and paid plans start at $1.99/month)

While Dropbox may not be a like for like iCloud Photos alternative, it has got most bases covered to be an all-in-one cloud storage service. It supports more than 170 file types, making Dropbox the perfect pick for folks who want a versatile cloud storage solution. So whether you have a ton of private photos or wish to keep a massive collection of documents, notes, and presentations organized in a secure cloud, Dropbox can live up to your task.

Dropbox lets you automatically upload photos and videos from your camera roll to the cloud. So, you don’t have to worry about syncing images manually. And if you want to share an image, you can generate a shareable link with ease. The best part? You can send large files using a link to anyone, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account.

Install Dropbox (Free, 2GB free storage and 2TB plan starts at $11.99/month)

If you wish to have better control over your images, NextCloud can be a viable option. As it’s a self-hosted platform, you have the freedom to set up your own NAS. For those unfamiliar, NAS stands for network-attached storage and is remote storage accessible over the Internet as if it was local. And the storage is offered by third-party service providers who charge a fee depending on capacity and bandwidth. 

Talking about the user interface, NextCloud offers a clean look with a focus on a hassle-free file managing experience. You can rename, copy, move, delete, and even create different folders to keep your photos and documents organized as per your preference. With the automatic loading functionality, it lets you store your private images in the cloud with ease. Since it’s integrated with the stock file manager app for iPhone and iPad, you can easily manage your documents and photos. 

What’s more, NextCloud comes with a memory optimization feature that plays a vital role in managing space. For an extra layer of safeguard, it also lets you use a passcode to prevent unauthorized access. While the app is available for free, you will need to buy storage plans from supported cloud storage providers. 

Install NextCloud (Free)

5. Box

Box is a top-notch cloud storage service for your iPhone. For starters, it provides an impressive 10GB of free storage to let you store docs, notes, photos, and videos. Thanks to the support for more than 100 file types, it has you fully covered in terms of compatibility when switching from iCloud Photos. 

However, what stands Box apart from many other cloud storage services is the smooth integration with hundreds of apps that open the gate of collaboration. So, you can make high-quality PowerPoint presentations, share huge files with a shareable link, take notes on the go, and even work on projects in real-time. 

Cons

  • Warrants some learning curve initially

Install Box (Free, 10GB free storage and $79.99/ year for 100GB)

For the folks who are hunting for a cloud storage platform that offers end-to-end encryption, Cryptomator looks like a solid alternative to iCloud Photos. Unlike Apple’s photo storage service, it provides end-to-end encryption, which could be a huge deal if privacy is your top priority. As the name itself suggests, it’s based on the open-source library OBJ-C Cryptor.

Notably, Cryptomator lets you create secure vaults and then store that vault in a cloud service or offline on a hard drive. As it supports both Touch ID and Face ID, you can easily unlock your vaults using biometric authentication.

Pros

  • Offers end-to-end encryptionLets you create multiple secure vaultsSupports all the major cloud-storage platformsCompatible with both Face ID and Touch ID

Install Cryptomator (Paid, $9.99)

Last but not least, Cryptee is more than a simple photo storage service. You can not only use it to store images but also your documents and notes. Based in Estonia, it uses AES-256 encryption to keep your images safeguarded against hacking. Moreover, Cryptee does not store any unencrypted data, nor does it allow any entity to check your data. So, you can rest assured that your personal images will be safe, away from prying eyes. 

Beyond privacy, Cryptee has a decent set of features, including the ability to hide your private photos with ghost albums and slideshows to let you view your memories beautifully. Thanks to the drag and drop gesture and tagging features, you can organize all your images with ease. Notably, it retains the original quality of photos so that they always look stunning when you download them in the future.

Check out Cryptee (Free, 100MB free storage and premium plan starts at $3.55/ month for 10GB)