There are few frustrations like reaching for your phone to capture your toddler playing with their new favorite toy or your 6-year-old proudly showing off their first missing tooth, only to be stopped by that dreaded “storage full” notification.
Suddenly, you’re left wondering, what do I do with all my photos?
We’ve put together a roundup of the most common storage solutions, along with their pros and cons, to help guide families in saving their memories.
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is one of the most popular ways of preserving photos today, partially because of the convenience of uploading and accessing photos from anywhere you have an internet connection.
| The Pros | The Cons |
| Auto-sync uploads reduce the risk of forgetting to save your photos | Storage subscription costs can add up quickly if you exceed the free storage limit |
| There are many options for Cloud storage including Google, iCloud, OneDrive, DropBox, and more | Hackers may gain access to personal information if your Cloud storage provider experiences a data breach |
| Easily share photos across devices connected to the same account | Some platforms compress images which reduces their quality |
| Built in search features like face recognition, location, and keyword tagging help you find and organize your favorite memories | If you forget you need or want to change Cloud services, creating a new backup and switching platforms can be time-consuming |
External hard drives
External hard drives offer a reliable alternative to internet-based photo storage, however you will need to offload your photos from your phone onto a laptop or computer first.
| The Pros | The Cons |
| Low privacy risk compared to uploading photos to the Cloud or social media sites | Photos may be lost if the hard drive is broken, corrupted, or damaged in a fire or other natural disaster |
| A 1 terabyte (TB) external hard drive can hold approximately 100,000 photos depending on the file size | Easier to forget to back up your files regularly if you don’t set a reminder |
| One time cost to purchase a storage device | A physical backup device is easier to lose and could be stolen |
| Images aren’t compressed which means your photos retain their quality | Photos can only be accessed from the storage device |
On your phone
For many people, their phone functions both as a primary camera and a primary storage device which makes saving your photos here the most immediate and accessible option.
| The Pros | The Cons |
| Convenient access to your photos whenever you want them | If your phone breaks you may not be able to recover your photos if they aren’t backed up somewhere else |
| Easily upload photos to your favorite social media site or send them in a text to loved ones | Scrolling to find a specific photo among thousands can be time consuming |
| Organize photos into albums for easier access | Most people don’t spend much time looking back through old photos on their devices |
| Photo editing options are built into your device | Storage space is limited compared to other storage options |
Physical keepsakes
Physical products bring your photos to life so you can revisit them away from the screen.
| The Pros | The Cons |
| You get to look at your favorite moments every day | Limited to selecting certain images |
| Make a beautiful, personalized gift to share special memories with family | Physical items such as prints, canvases, and albums may be damaged or destroyed in disasters like a flood or fire |
| Not impacted by accidental loss such as corrupted files or accidental deletion | More time-intensive to create albums or order prints |
| Can become family heirlooms if passed down over time | The quality of your keepsake depends on the materials (paper, ink, print lab, etc.) and proper storage conditions |
Final thoughts
Each photo storage option has advantages and disadvantages. The most important thing to remember is to keep additional copies of your photos in at least one other place whenever possible. In the event that you lose access to your photos in one place, you’ll have a backup copy or even two to ensure your precious memories aren’t lost to time.
