This seems like a basic desire, but I guess I am a little picky. I want something that will organize, and document the photos and save as much info in the EXIF as possible. That way when the photos are downloaded, the information is not lost. Also there should be some access control to prevent private information from being leaked. That is about all there is to it. phTagR was the way to go but it has not been updated in over 10 years.

I’m going to document a few options below with what I do and don’t like about them. I plagiarized the following from Dropbox. My final solution may be a combination of these since none of them do what I want above.

Instagram

We like:

Known as “Insta” among many of its fans, this social network—like TikTok—is more ideal for sharing photos in real time with a real, virtual audience. Think: events. Its fluid, easy-to-use interface is absorbing and, yes, habit-forming. If you want to update family or friends with a daily selfie in “real-time,” Instagram is a great choice. You can edit images in-edit and set privacy features as need be.

We don’t like:

Of course, because it’s a social media platform, only people with an Instagram account can access your photos, and you can’t easily upload photos from your desktop computer. It’s also not ideal from a privacy perspective, so it isn’t great for storage.

Apple Photos

Apple Photos—familiar to iPad, iPhone, and Mac users—comes with many features that make it a decent option for Apple users. It also sorts your photos by the day, month, and year and stores them to iCloud.

We like:

Its auto tagging, search suggestions and album sharing properties. 

We don’t like:

We’re obviously biased, but we don’t love the facial recognition properties; Apple Photos can identify folks in your photos, which has drawn some criticism from privacy proponents. Additionally, Apple Photos is only available to Mac/ iOs users. Photos taken from a non-Apple device need to be transferred. (By comparison, Dropbox is available as an app on iOS and Android, as well as on desktop for both PC and Mac.)

Google Photos

If you have a Gmail account, you already have access to a personal Google Photos account. Some Android phones may come with the Google Photos app pre-installed. 

We like:

Google’s automatic tagging feature—labeling holiday pictures with terms like “pool”—can be nice, and we like the auto-backup feature (which, ahem, Dropbox also has). 

We don’t like:

Ever get a grainy video sent to you? It might have been taken using Google Photos, which compresses some high-resolution videos and photos to save space. It limits photos to 16 megapixels and video to 1080p. That means that if you’re capturing high resolution photos or 4K video, they’ll likely be compressed to save space. Also, shared album functionality is nice, but we wish it had password protection. And of course to use any Google product—like Google Drive—friends have to sign up for a Google account. 

Amazon Photos

We like:

Amazon Photos offers unlimited storage—online—of images, and up to 5 GB of video storage, exclusively for Amazon Prime member. Amazon will tag your photos—for better or for worse—and sync across devices.

We don’t like:

In 2023, as of this writing, Amazon Prime costs a cool $139 annually. It doesn’t have photo storage options for non-Prime users.

Flickr

We like:

Flickr hit the photo-sharing market in 2004, and enjoyed a heyday among professional photographers. They appreciated its community-building aspect and the ability to share feedback on one another’s work. Despite being eclipsed by social media platforms, Flickr remains a solid option for showcasing professional work.

We don’t like:

Flickr limits a free account to 1,000 photos. Its strength remains in the professional photographer realm. This might be ideal if you want to create a portfolio, but it does mean you have to take a few extra steps to make your files private. We also like the licensing aspects of Flickr: You can select whether your images are free for reuse or not. Though it’s good for networking, Flickr doesn’t make it easy to create a private space for you and others to share photos.

SmugMug

We like:

Professional photographers (and wanna-bes) alike love this site for its unlimited storage and ability to print photos. Each plan comes with a customizable page for your portfolio, plus the ability to display pictures in full-screen mode. It’s also got password protection and decent private sharing, plus a printing service. 

We don’t like:

It’s pricey! SmugMug offers three plans—but only a 14-day free trial. As of this writing, annual plans cost $110 to $360. SmugMug could be a good choice for serious photographers, but its cost adds up.

Best photo-sharing option

The only thing worse than having family photos inundating your email inbox is never getting them at all. So pick a storage solution that makes photo sharing a snap. A shared folder on Dropbox makes it easy for anyone in your crew to add photos and share from any web browser, any device—no matter whether they’re an iPhone or Android user.

Remember that you get privacy, tons of space, and free photo storage options at Dropbox. Top-quality storage space, easy sharing options, and a clean desktop on your computer. Life is good.