How I Automated My Photo Backup (So I Don’t Have to Pay for Cloud Storage or Manually Upload Every Time)

#programming #backend #ios

You know that sinking feeling when your phone suddenly flashes, “Storage full!” again? Yup, I was there last week. My Google Drive told me it was full too. 🤦‍♂️

I had a cool 29 GB worth of photos and videos scattered between iCloud and Google Drive, but neither could hold much more. Plus, I wasn’t too keen on forking out ₹500+ every month just to buy more space from Apple or Google. Why pay for more when I can build my own?

So here’s the story of how I became my own cloud hero — with a little API magic and iPhone shortcuts.

Step 1: The Problem

Tons of photos/videos piling up
No more free cloud storage
Paying for extra storage? No, thanks 😅
Manually uploading? Nope, not gonna happen every time

Step 2: The DIY solution

I built a custom API on my own server that acts like a gatekeeper for uploads. Here’s what it does:

Takes my credentials so only I can send data
Accepts files as objects and safely stores them in my cloud
Has built-in security with token-based access so no creepy strangers can sneak in
Has rate limits and timeouts because nobody likes getting spammed

Then, on my iPhone, I created a shortcut automation to bridge the gap:

It looks inside my selected photo album (for demo, I picked the Recent album)
It grabs either the latest new photo or a bunch of them if needed
It does a POST request to my API’s /upload endpoint — basically sending my photos over
And when done? It pings me a notification to say, Hey, all’s uploaded!

Step 3: Customization for real life

I can tell this shortcut to run only when 100 new photos pile up (so it doesn’t spam uploads)
Or schedule it for certain days, like backup every Sunday night
Or run it while charging so it doesn’t kill my battery
There’s even a master switch for daily backups if I want

Step 4: Is it perfect?

Does it work smoothly? Yes! It only uploads images and videos, no fuss. I literally don’t have to lift a finger now.

And security? Locked down tight with tokens and limits.

Why did I do all this?

Because frankly, no one wants to manually upload hundreds of photos, and who wants to keep handing over ₹500+ monthly for space they could have on their own terms? No offense Apple/Google, but my wallet says no. 😄

What’s next on my list?

Building a slick gallery UI to display all these uploaded photos on my server, something that feels as clean and easy-going as the native Photos app on my phone. Still a work in progress, but pretty darn excited about it! 🤓✊

What can you do now?

If you made it this far, drop a like or share some quirky tech hacks that make your life better. Maybe even a weird but useful automation? I love reading these! And hey, if you enjoyed the story, a repost would mean a lot. Let’s spread that DIY tech mojo! 😄