Proton Photos vs Google Photos: The Honest Comparison
Proton Photos vs Google Photos: Two Different Deals
Section titled "Proton Photos vs Google Photos: Two Different Deals"Google Photos is the default home for most people's photo library, and it has real costs: only 15 GB of free storage shared with Gmail and Drive, a compression option that downsizes originals, an inactivity policy that can delete your content, and a business model built on analyzing your photos. Proton positions its Photos feature as the private alternative, and the demand is real: a top r/ProtonDrive post titled "Make Proton Photos more like a real alternative to Google Photos" collects a long list of the gaps users hit[1].
Proton Photos is the photo surface inside Proton Drive. It beats Google Photos on privacy: every photo is end-to-end encrypted before upload, nothing is compressed unless you choose it, and Proton says it does not scan your photos or train AI on them. Google Photos still wins on convenience: mature face recognition, AI-powered search, and a far larger feature set. If your priority is keeping photos private and unmodified, Proton wins. If you rely on Google's AI search and automatic face grouping day to day, you will feel the difference.
This article is the honest feature-by-feature comparison. For the actual move, see How to Move Google Photos to Proton Drive.
What Proton Photos Actually Is
Section titled "What Proton Photos Actually Is"Proton Photos is not a separate app with its own login. It is the photo and album surface of Proton Drive, at drive.proton.me/u/0/photos. Your photo quota is your Proton Drive quota (5 GB free, 200 GB on Drive Plus), and the photos share the same end-to-end encryption as every other file in Proton Drive[2]. Proton's own framing is direct: "Unlike Google Photos, Proton Drive empowers you to control your pictures, videos, and albums with uncompromising privacy and security"[3].
Head-to-Head Comparison
Section titled "Head-to-Head Comparison"| Feature | Proton Photos | Google Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Free storage | 5 GB (shared with Proton Drive) | 15 GB (shared with Gmail and Drive) |
| End-to-end encryption | Yes, zero-access. Proton says "no one, not even Proton, can access your files"[4] | No. Google holds the keys and can read your photos |
| Compression | Originals stored as-is, no forced downscaling | "Storage saver" (previously "High quality") compresses photos[5] |
| Face recognition | Not available | Yes, mature, automatic |
| AI search | No (search by date, type, favorites, filters) | Yes, natural-language and object search, Gemini integration |
| Albums | Yes, shared albums with email invites, favorites[6] | Yes, shared albums |
| Auto mobile backup | Yes, iOS and Android[7] | Yes, iOS and Android |
| Metadata / EXIF | Preserved; album names and photo locations are encrypted[8] | Preserved, but readable by Google |
| Scanning / AI training | Proton states it does not scan photos or use them to train AI[9] | Google analyzes photos (faces, objects, locations) and has folded Gemini into Photos |
| Inactivity deletion | No such policy documented | Google may delete content after 2+ years of inactivity[10] |
| Jurisdiction | Switzerland, open source, audited | US-based, subject to US law |
| Price (paid) | Drive Plus: 200 GB, see pricing | Google One paid tiers (see plans) |
Where Proton Photos Wins
Section titled "Where Proton Photos Wins"End-to-end encryption. This is the entire point. Proton encrypts photos, album names, and metadata like locations on your device before upload, so even Proton cannot read them[11]. Google Photos is not encrypted this way; Google can see your photos, and Proton's marketing presses the point that Google "scans and analyzes the faces" in them[12].
No forced compression. Google's "Storage saver" mode downsizes originals to fit more in your quota, and it is the default that most people have been running for years. Proton stores originals as-is. If you care about keeping full-resolution files, that is a meaningful difference for a large library.
No AI-training or advertising pipeline. Proton's position is that your photos are "too personal to be scanned by surveillance systems or analyzed by algorithms"[13]. Google, by contrast, has integrated Gemini into Google Photos and uses the data for its own models.
You are not renting against a deletion policy. Google's own support page states: "If you're inactive in Google Photos for 2 years or more, your content may be deleted"[14]. Proton does not have an equivalent inactivity-deletion policy for stored photos.
Where Google Photos Still Wins
Section titled "Where Google Photos Still Wins"Be honest about the gaps before switching, because they are real:
- Face recognition. Google automatically groups photos by person and lets you search by face. Proton Photos has no face recognition today.
- AI search. Google's natural-language search ("photos of my dog at the beach") is best-in-class. Proton searches by date, type, favorite, and filter, not by content.
- Mature editor and ecosystem. Google Photos has editing tools, shared libraries, partner sharing, and deep Android integration. Proton's Photos surface is younger.
- Bigger free tier. 15 GB vs 5 GB, both shared with the rest of the account.
What Proton Photos Still Lacks (Per the Community)
Section titled "What Proton Photos Still Lacks (Per the Community)"The r/ProtonDrive thread that calls for Proton Photos to be "more like a real alternative" lists the specific gaps users hit[15]:
- Viewing on-device photos alongside cloud photos in one interface.
- iCloud-style storage optimization (full original in the cloud, small preview on the device).
- A dedicated duplicates view to find and remove duplicate files.
- Editing tools (the post suggests Lumo image editing).
- Editing the captured date of a photo to correct wrong timestamps.
- A standalone Proton Photos app.
None of these are dealbreakers for a private archive, but they matter if you treat Proton Photos as a full Google Photos replacement for daily browsing.
Pricing: What You Actually Pay
Section titled "Pricing: What You Actually Pay"| Proton | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free | 5 GB | 15 GB |
| 200 GB | Drive Plus (see pricing) | Google One paid tiers, see plans |
| 500 GB | Proton Unlimited (VPN + Mail + Calendar + Pass) | Google One paid tiers |
Proton's paid tier is a flat storage subscription. Google One bundles other Google benefits, but the storage is the part that matters for photos. Prices drift, so check the Proton Drive pricing page and Google One plans before deciding.
The Switch Decision
Section titled "The Switch Decision"Choose Proton Photos if you want originals kept unmodified, end-to-end encrypted, in a zero-access service you are not renting against a deletion policy. Choose Google Photos if you rely on face recognition, AI search, and editing day to day and are comfortable with Google reading your library.
If you switch, the mechanics are covered in depth in How to Move Google Photos to Proton Drive, which compares Proton's official Takeout-based import with a direct transfer, and Migrating To or From Proton Drive covers the general Proton Drive migration story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Section titled "Frequently Asked Questions"Is Proton Photos free? Yes. It is the photo surface of Proton Drive, and the free plan includes 5 GB of storage for photos and files. Proton says that is "enough space to store more than 1000 photos" at an average size of 4 MB[16]. Paid plans start with 200 GB on Drive Plus[17].
Does Proton Photos compress my photos? No. Originals are stored as-is. Google's "Storage saver" mode, by contrast, compresses photos to save space[18].
Does Proton Photos have face recognition? Not yet. Google Photos has automatic face grouping; Proton Photos does not. It is one of the most-requested gaps in the community[19].
Can Proton Photos replace Google Photos? For private, encrypted photo storage: yes. For a drop-in with Google's AI search, face recognition, and editing: not fully yet. This article walks through exactly what you gain and what you give up.
Is Proton Photos the same as Proton Drive? No. Proton Drive is the general file-storage product (folders, sync, sharing, Docs and Sheets). Proton Photos is the photo-and-album surface inside it, optimized for media. See How is Proton Drive different to Proton Photos? for the full explanation.
How do I get my existing photos out of Google Photos? Google has no bulk "download all" button, and Takeout is slow and Windows-only for Proton's import. See How to Move Google Photos to Proton Drive and How to Backup Google Photos Without Google Takeout for the options.