Editor's Review
If your household already runs on Amazon, with Prime, an Echo and a Fire tablet in the mix, the calculation for this app is different from the one you would make about any other backup service. The storage sits in an account you already hold, and the pictures surface on screens you already own.
Backup and browsing:
The core job is automatic upload of the camera roll in the background, with options to restrict that to Wi-Fi and to charging. Once files are up, the app becomes a browser over them: albums, a timeline, and search that indexes what is in a picture rather than only its filename, so a query for a place or an object usually lands. Sharing runs through albums and family groups, letting several people contribute to one shared library. Photos can also be pushed to Fire TV and Echo Show screens, a feature that quietly justifies the app for a lot of Amazon households.
Worth checking first:
This listing shows as paid rather than free, so look at what the store quotes in your region before committing. Amazon's storage terms depend on your account and membership, and the allowance for video is not the same as the allowance for stills. The 4.71 average across fifty million installs is strong, but the standard complaint in this category applies: background upload can be interrupted by Android power management, and a large library takes a long first sync.
Features
Automatic background backup of photos and videos
Wi-Fi-only and charging-only upload restrictions
Timeline and album browsing across the whole library
Search that recognises places, objects and people
Shared family albums with several contributors
Display on Fire TV and Echo Show screens
Tool for clearing local copies of files already uploaded
Sign-in through an existing Amazon account
Pros
Storage attaches to an account many households already pay for
Search over image contents is quick and surprisingly accurate
Family sharing lets several people build one library together
4.71 across fifty million installs is a strong record for a backup tool
Cons
The listing shows as paid, so check the price in your region first
Storage terms treat video differently from stills
Background upload can stall under aggressive battery management
Questions people ask
Do I need an Amazon account?
Yes. The app is a front end for storage held in an Amazon account, and there is no way to use it without signing in to one.
Is the storage unlimited?
The allowance depends on your account and membership, and photos and videos are not treated the same way. Check the terms attached to your own account rather than assuming one figure covers everything.
Will it free up space on my phone?
There is a tool for removing local copies of files that have already been uploaded, but it only helps once a backup has finished, and the first pass over a large library takes time.
