easy to share, completely private and with plenty of storage

As cell phones take better photos, they have become a device that many people use to capture images and videos in Europe. This is one of the biggest advantages of the smartphone concept currently used by manufacturers, and it means that many people don't even think about taking a compact camera on vacation.

Of course, this also requires having more storage on these devices, which is not always possible to expand after purchasing it, since not all of them have space for micro SD cards. This is where services like Google Photos or Dropbox come in, which offer cloud storage.

These platforms offer the user limited space to save images and videos so that they do not overwrite the internal memory of the terminal. In addition, they have other advantages, such as being able to access the backup copy of these elements from any device, with the only condition that it is connected to the Internet. These platforms have a monthly price depending on the space they offer, because it is true that not all users are the same in this sense.

In fact, there are also people who don't usually take many photos and are happy with the 15 GB offered for free by Google. However, this is not the only option for having a cloud. And if you usually capture a lot of images daily, purchasing a NAS can be a great option.

Over the last month I have tested the Synolgy DS923+ as a personal cloud to replace Google Photos, and the truth is that it is an alternative that has pleasantly surprised me, not only for its good performance, but also for its simplicity in their management. backups. In fact, it even has a standalone Android app that works great.

Storage galore

First of all, it is worth remembering that a NAS is a network storage device that can function as a completely private and personal cloud. These devices have their own processor and RAM and must be connected to the Internet to work.

These devices have slots for hard drives, this Synolgy DS923+ notably has four bays in which you can insert 3.5-inch hard drives, 2.5-inch SSDs or even M2 storage. Its processor is the AMD Ryzen R1600 and it comes with 4 GB of RAM, although this amount can be expanded up to 32 GB. This means that its performance can be slightly improved if, over time, we find that they are not up to par.

The truth is that even if we compare it to Google Photos or Dropbox, its reach is much greater than those platforms, since it offers a larger storage size. The unit that we analyzed in EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre arrived with four hard drives of 4 TB each, and depending on the configuration applied to the NAS, you will be able to take advantage of all this storage in full or in half.

This reduction in capacity will mean that half of the space will be used as backup so you never lose information. In this sense, it is a device capable of offering storage superior to cloud services and at a much lower price. In this sense, the storage depends a little on what the user wants to spend at a given time, so it is perfectly adapted to their needs.

One of the great advantages of this device compared to a conventional cloud service is that in this case you only have to pay once to acquire this storage, while on platforms like Google Photos a monthly payment is necessary to maintain and continue using the backup. Although the initial outlay isn't particularly cheap, in the long run NAS is a great option for saving money.

Endless possibilities

Please note that this device does not function as a hard drive. We will not find it in the computer's file explorer, but rather we must access it from the Internet browser, configuring a username and password so that it is completely secure and that no one we don't want to be able to access it.

In this sense, the company offers different security measures on the device that make it completely private, which is appreciated given that it will be used to save files. Once it is configured, accessing the elements it contains and their configuration is as simple as entering an address in the browser, which will open a visual interface in this same tab.

From there you can access both the files and its different utilities, since it has specialized software created by the company that offers you a large number of possibilities. On the one hand, it can be used as the computer's own storage, to copy and paste folders containing files and store all kinds of things there, from memories to work documents.

Another of the great virtues of Synology software is that it allows you to create different users with different privileges, so you can create one for each person who is going to use the storage available on the device. This way, everyone's data will be separated so your files don't get mixed up. Beyond that, they have a store with different extensions through which you can go even deeper into its utilities.

Application for Android

Without a doubt, the device itself and what it is capable of are already very interesting things, but the best part is that the company has its own application to synchronize and save images and videos.

This will make the process of replacing Google Photos slower and manual, since we will have to copy our images and videos manually from the smartphone every time we want to upload them to our own cloud.

Thanks to this app, called Synology Photos, the process is as simple as Google's alternative. All we have to do is log into our account to connect to our server and view all the images we have in this section.

On the NAS, you will only have to access the Synology control panel and do the initial configuration of its section dedicated to photos and videos. Basically, you need to choose a folder to backup and set some preferences for it. The good news is that the device has its own management software, so the interface is very user-friendly and it is possible to carry out this entire process from the computer without much difficulty.

Should I buy it?

Although cloud backup platforms are a great option and are also very convenient, in the long run they are services that can end up being quite expensive. Especially in cases where a lot of storage is needed for work and family reasons.

The advantage of using this NAS to replace Google Photos and Google Drive is that it also has a large number of options that can be useful in both professional and personal areas. The Synology DS923+ has a starting price of 659 dollarsalthough it is possible to find them cheaper in some stores. This is something to keep in mind, because if you're using one of Google's more expensive subscriptions, it might take a little over a year to pay for itself.

Backing up images and videos taken by the camera can be done completely automatically from Synology Photos, so the user doesn't need to do anything other than the first setup. This makes it a perfect substitute in terms of usability, as it does not add extra workload to the user.

Of course it is an extremely recommended option if you don't want to depend on Google to save and preserve our photographs. In addition, it offers great independence in terms of disk management, since NAS have different configuration options that allow you to create a backup on several of these disks in exchange for using more storage.

This type of functionality allows files to be saved there in complete safety, because in the event of a problem, it will be possible to resort to one of these backup copies. Perhaps the only thing I missed in Google Photos is the ability to create common albums or use the company's photo editor, but it's certainly worth it considering the savings it can bring over the years.