Leaving Apple Photos?

Last updated: November 5, 2026

Move your library to Synology Photos. Five steps.

Try one small batch first.

1. Export Your Originals.

Leave the Photos Library package alone. Inside it, file names mean nothing and the folders are hard to use. Use Apple's export:

1. Using iCloud Photos? Turn on Download Originals to this Mac in the Photos settings, and let it finish.
2. Select one year. A smart album for each year makes this easy.
3. Choose File > Export > Export Unmodified Original.
4. Select Export IPTC as XMP to keep your keywords.

Repeat, one year at a time.

Live Photos export as two files, a still and a video. Keep them together.

Originals don't include your edits. Want to keep an edit? Export that photo with File > Export too.

Apple's export leaves your albums and people's names behind. Want your albums as folders? Apps like Photos Takeout export by year or album. osxphotos is free and runs in Terminal. It can also write people's names into your files.

2. Copy to Your NAS.

Copy the folders into /home/Photos with Finder or File Station. Synology Photos only looks in its own folders.

Skip drag-and-drop on the Synology Photos web page. It stops at 5,000 files per upload, and folders lose their structure.

Then check the timeline. Wrong dates are easier to fix before the next batch.

3. Turn On People and Subjects.

Both are settings in Synology Photos. They only work on certain NAS models, so check yours.

iPhones often shoot HEIC and HEVC. For those, Synology says you need Synology Image Assistant to create additional previews.

4. Back Up Your iPhone.

Use the backup in the Synology Photos iPhone app. Then check that new photos arrive.

Synology recommends notifications on and the phone charging. Delayed iCloud sync can cause missed photos.

Deleting a photo? You may need to do it twice, on the phone and in Synology Photos.

5. Check. Then Leave iCloud.

Compare photo counts. Open a few from every year, including videos and Live Photos.

Back up your NAS to a second place, with Hyper Backup for example. One NAS isn't a backup.

Now you can change your iCloud plan or remove your Apple library. Once iCloud Photos is off, it stops syncing your devices.

And on Your Mac?

Synology lists a web page, mobile apps and TV apps for Synology Photos. No Mac app. The web page needs a connection to your NAS.

FlowGallery is a native Mac app for your library. Timeline, albums, folders, search and Live Photos are free. So are your favorites and the last month of photos offline.

FlowGallery Pro adds People, Subjects, Places and your whole library offline.

FlowGallery is for browsing. It doesn't upload or edit photos. It needs macOS 26 and your server's address.