Blober vs rclone
Blober signs in to GoPro Cloud, writes into iCloud Photos, reads the Google Photos library you already have, and builds Proton Photos tiles on your machine. rclone is a fine tool for files between mainstream clouds.
rclone has no GoPro backend, cannot write to iCloud Photos, and gets a Google Photos library only if it uploaded it. Blober reaches all four, and never asks for your password.
Each of these is a limit in rclone's own documentation or protocol.
rclone: no backendGoPro publishes no API, so there is no gopro: remote to configure and every client for it is reverse-engineered. Blober signs in to GoPro Cloud and moves the library at original quality, without the web portal’s batches of about 25 files, which often stall and can strip the GPS data.
rclone: read-onlyrclone added an iCloud backend that can read the Photos library. Its documentation states the service is read-only and that upload, delete, rename and move are not supported. Blober uploads photos and videos into the library and keeps the capture date.
rclone: files onlyProton is end-to-end encrypted, so the tile has to be built on your machine before the upload. Blober generates image tiles, a video poster and audio album art as it goes.
rclone: uploads onlySince 31 March 2025 rclone can only download the photos it uploaded itself, so a library that predates your rclone use is out of reach without Takeout. Blober reads the whole library, with no Takeout zip and no Google Cloud project to register.
Google’s API hands back a reduced copy and strips the GPS data out of the EXIF, and rclone’s answer is a separate proxy that drives a headless browser on your machine. Blober reads the library through a browser session, so images come back at full resolution with the capture date and the rest of the EXIF intact.
rclone: your password, in a config filerclone wants your Apple ID password, your 2FA code and your Proton password, and keeps them in rclone.conf. Blober signs in on the provider’s own page and never asks for your password at all.
Proton Photos never sees the pixels, so the client has to build the thumbnail, and a photo uploaded without one shows as a grey square. iCloud Photos normally builds its own, and Blober steps in only when Apple cannot. rclone can do neither job: it cannot write to iCloud Photos, and it has no Proton Photos support.
no thumbnail
rclone
BloberImages get a small tile and a larger preview, both the right way up.
Video gets a poster frame taken from the clip. Audio gets its embedded album art.
Blober only does this work where the provider cannot. Upload anywhere that builds its own tiles and nothing is generated. A file we cannot decode still uploads without one. On iCloud Photos the work covers photos and videos, because Apple refuses audio and camera RAW from any client.
From rclone's own docs: iCloud Photos is read-only and the Proton Drive backend moves files only.
Partly is a yes with a caveat, in either column.
| Capability | Blober | rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Providers | ||
| GoPro Cloud | BloberBuilt on an unpublished APIsupported | rcloneNo backendnot supported |
| iCloud Drive | Blobersupported | rcloneSince v1.69supported |
| iCloud Photos, reading | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| iCloud Photos, writing | Blobersupported | rcloneRead-only, in its own docsnot supported |
| Proton Drive files | Blobersupported | rcloneBeta, on a third-party bridgepartially supported |
| Proton Photos | BloberUploaded with client-built tilessupported | rclonenot supported |
| Google Photos: all photos/videos | Blobersupported | rcloneOnly what it uploaded, since 31 March 2025not supported |
| Google Photos: full-resolution images | Blobersupported | rcloneNeeds the gphotosdl headless-browser proxypartially supported |
| Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, the S3 family | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| Any S3-compatible endpoint | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| Backend count | Blober19 in the app, including a generic S3-compatible endpointpartially supported | rcloneOver 70supported |
| Running a transfer | ||
| Desktop app | Blobersupported | rcloneThird-party GUIs existnot supported |
| No middleman server in the data path | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| Local drives, SD cards and NAS | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| Saved, reusable workflows | Blobersupported | rcloneYou maintain the scriptnot supported |
| Resume an interrupted run from stored state | Blobersupported | rcloneRe-runs and re-checkspartially supported |
| Per-file history after the run | Blobersupported | rcloneLog filepartially supported |
| Progress: files handled and bytes moved | Blobersupported | rclone--progress and --statssupported |
| Flags to remember per job | BloberNonesupported | rcloneEvery jobnot supported |
| Deduplication as a destination setting | BloberWhere the provider allows itsupported | rcloneFlagspartially supported |
| Path templates built from file metadata | Blobersupported | rcloneScript itnot supported |
| Filters and globs | Blobersupported | rclonesupported |
| Keeps the machine awake during a long run | Blobersupported | rcloneWrap it in caffeinate or systemd-inhibitnot supported |
| Media and derivatives | ||
| Thumbnails built during transfer | BloberProton Photos, plus iCloud Photos when neededsupported | rclonenot supported |
| Capture date preserved into photos | Blobersupported | rcloneWhere the API allows, and it cannot write to iCloud Photospartially supported |
| Fills the tile fields when the provider cannot | Blobersupported | rclonenot supported |
| Credentials and setup | ||
| GoPro Cloud sign-in | BloberGoPro’s own pagesupported | rcloneNo backendnot supported |
| iCloud sign-in | BloberApple’s own pagesupported | rcloneApple ID password and a 2FA code, and a trust token that expires every 30 dayspartially supported |
| Proton sign-in | BloberProton’s own pagesupported | rcloneYour Proton password, and the mailbox password when the account has onepartially supported |
| Google Photos sign-in | BloberNothing to registersupported | rcloneAn OAuth client ID of your own; the shared one stops working during 2026partially supported |
| Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive sign-in | Blobersupported | rcloneOAuth, the same as Blobersupported |
| Your Apple ID and Proton passwords stay yours | BloberNo password requiredsupported | rcloneBoth go in rclone.confnot supported |
| Several accounts per provider | Blobersupported | rcloneOne remote eachsupported |
| Everything else | ||
| Mount cloud storage as a local drive | Blobernot supported | rclonesupported |
| Two-way sync | BloberPlannednot supported | rclonesupported |
| Run from a script or CI | Blobernot supported | rclonesupported |
| Price | BloberOne-time licencepartially supported | rcloneOpen sourcesupported |
| Support | BloberProduct supportsupported | rcloneCommunitypartially supported |
Six jobs rclone does better. If one of them is all you need, you already have the right tool, and it is free.
Plenty of people run both: rclone on the server, on a schedule, and Blober on the desktop for the media files and the providers rclone has no backend for.
No. Blober does not use rclone, wrap it or ship it. It is a separate transfer engine with its own adapters, which is how it reaches providers rclone has no backend for and why it can write into iCloud Photos and read a Google Photos library that predates it. A GUI over rclone inherits exactly what rclone can and cannot do.
It can move files in iCloud Drive, since v1.69. It cannot write to iCloud Photos: rclone’s own page states that the service is read-only and that upload, delete, rename and move are not supported. Blober does both, so a camera roll, an old phone backup or a client delivery can go into the Photos timeline rather than sit next to it.
Not any more. Since 31 March 2025 rclone can only download the photos it uploaded itself, so a library that predates your rclone use needs Takeout. Because its shared client ID is being retired during 2026 it also wants a Google Cloud project of your own, and full-resolution originals want the separate gphotosdl proxy. Blober reads the library directly.
For iCloud, yes: a remote is configured with your Apple ID password and a 2FA code, and the trust token in rclone.conf is renewed every 30 days. A Proton remote is configured the same way, with your Proton password and mailbox password. Blober opens the provider’s own sign-in page in a window, so no provider password is written to disk at all.
Proton Photos is the one it always matters for: it is end-to-end encrypted, so it never sees your pixels and cannot build the tile itself, and a photo uploaded without one shows as a grey square in the timeline. Blober makes the image tile, the video poster and the audio cover on your machine as it uploads. iCloud Photos normally builds its own tiles, and Blober only steps in when Apple’s usual import route is unavailable. Everywhere else the provider builds its own, and Blober does no work at all.
No. Transfers run on your machine over your own connection, straight to the provider. There is no middleman holding your credentials or a copy of your data, which is a property it shares with rclone.
When you need a provider Blober does not ship, an encrypted remote, a two-way sync, a mount, or something that runs headless on a schedule. rclone does those jobs well and costs nothing, and plenty of people run both: rclone on the server, Blober for the media files and the proprietary providers.
A one-time licence with the current launch discount. No subscription, no per-transfer fee, and updates are included.
Pick the accounts, tick what moves, and run it. Sign-in happens on each provider's own page, and the job stays saved as a workflow you can rerun.
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