Tools to create a separate photo library

The problem, in plain words: “I want an app that imports photos from my phone's camera roll into a separate library I control so I can delete the originals without removing the copies.”

Immich fits best, with 1 more that fits too.

You want an app that copies photos from your phone’s camera roll into a separate library you control so you can delete the originals without removing the stored copies.

Updated August 2026.

What fits

Immichstrong · 90

Immich is explicitly a self-hosted photo and video backup platform that stores your library on your own server, so its primary purpose is to copy phone camera-roll photos into a library you control rather than keeping them only on the device or a third-party cloud.

Best for: Privacy-conscious users who are comfortable running or using a personal server (or a hosted instance) to keep full, independent copies of their phone photos.

PhotoPrismstrong · 85

PhotoPrism is an AI-powered, self-hosted photo app for browsing and organizing your photo library on your own server, so it serves the core need of importing and keeping independent copies under your control instead of leaving them only in the phone’s camera roll.

Best for: Users who want a robust, searchable self-hosted photo library and can run PhotoPrism on their own machine or server to archive phone photos.

Questions

What's the best tool to create a separate photo library?

Immich is the strongest match — Immich is explicitly a self-hosted photo and video backup platform that stores your library on your own server, so its primary purpose is to copy phone camera-roll photos into a library you control rather than keeping them only on the device or a third-party cloud.

Is there a tool that fully solves this?

2 products match this closely.

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