Synology Photos is Synology's built-in photo management application for DSM 7.0 and later, replacing the older Moments and Photo Station apps. It combines a personal photo library with optional shared family or team albums, supports AI-powered subject and face recognition, and includes automatic mobile backup via the Synology Photos mobile app. Unlike cloud photo services, everything stays on your hardware. No per-GB subscription, no vendor lock-in, and photo files remain stored on your NAS, although remote-access traffic may leave your premises and QuickConnect can use Synology relay servers when a direct connection is unavailable.
In short: Install Synology Photos from Package Center, enable Shared Space in Synology Photos, which creates the /photo shared folder automatically, enable the Personal Space for each user, then install the Synology Photos mobile app for automatic device backup. The most common mistake is skipping folder permissions. If users can't see Shared Space photos, check access and folder permissions in Synology Photos first.
Before You Start: Requirements and Compatibility
Synology Photos requires DSM 7.0 or later. Check your current DSM version in Control Panel > Update & Restore. Any NAS released since 2018 that can run DSM 7.0 supports Synology Photos, including the DS225+, DS425+, DS925+, and DS1525+. Older units from 2016-2018 that are limited to DSM 6.x cannot run Synology Photos. Check the Synology Product Lifecycle page to confirm whether your model supports DSM 7.
Face and object recognition are built into Synology Photos on supported NAS models. Object recognition requires DSM 7.2 and Synology Photos 1.5.0 or later, and the DS225+ and DS425+ require a memory upgrade to at least 4 GB for that feature. This is resource-intensive. Recognition and indexing performance varies with library contents, available memory, enabled features and competing NAS workloads; Synology does not publish a 50,000-photo threshold or a directly comparable indexing benchmark for these models.
A dedicated volume for photos is recommended if you have drives available. This isn't mandatory, but it simplifies storage planning and allows you to allocate quota per user. If you're on a single-volume setup, that's fine. Synology Photos works on any volume.
Step 1. Install Synology Photos
Open Package Center from the DSM desktop. Search for Synology Photos. Click Install. If DSM asks for an installation volume, that selection is for the package; Personal Space and Shared Space media are stored in /home/Photos and /photo respectively. Select the volume with the most free space, or a dedicated photo volume if you created one.
When you enable Shared Space in Synology Photos, DSM creates the shared folder /photo. This is the Shared Space. It holds albums and photos accessible to all users with permission. Do not rename this folder after creation.
After installation, Synology Photos appears in the App menu. Open it once to initialise the database. This can take a few minutes on first launch if DSM needs to index existing files.
Step 2. Configure Shared Space and Personal Spaces
Synology Photos has two distinct storage spaces:
- Shared Space. The
photofolder, accessible to all users you grant permission. Good for family albums, shared memories, or household photos. - Personal Space. Each user gets their own
/home/Photosfolder, private by default. This is where mobile backups land.
To enable Personal Spaces, go to Synology Photos > Settings (top-right gear icon) > Personal Space. Toggle it on. All user accounts will now have a private library tied to their home folder.
For the Shared Space, set permissions in Control Panel > Shared Folder > photo > Edit > Permissions. Add the users or groups who should access shared albums. Users need at least Read/Write permission to upload to the Shared Space, or Read Only for viewing only. This is the most common source of confusion. If a family member can't see shared albums, check here first.
Step 3. Enable Mobile Backup
Install the Synology Photos app on Android or iOS. Open it and enter your NAS address. For local network access, the IP address works (e.g. 192.168.1.x). For remote backup when away from home, you'll need either QuickConnect (enabled in Control Panel > QuickConnect) or a direct DDNS hostname.
QuickConnect note for Australian users: QuickConnect may relay traffic through Synology servers when it cannot establish a direct connection, and relayed connections can add latency. For heavy use (continuous mobile backup over 4G/5G), setting up direct remote access via DDNS or VPN gives better throughput. Upload capacity varies by NBN technology, retail plan and provider; eligible FTTP/HFC Home Fast services can now be 500/50, while some other 100 Mbps services remain limited to lower upstream rates.
In the app, go to Me > Auto Backup and enable it. Set the backup destination. Choose Personal Space for private backup, or Shared Space if the administrator has granted the required Shared Space mobile-backup permission and you want the files stored in the shared library. Select whether to back up over mobile data or Wi-Fi only (Wi-Fi only is the sensible default to avoid burning through mobile data).
CGNAT and remote access: Some Australian ISPs and plans use CGNAT, which prevents conventional inbound port forwarding; check your ISP's current address policy rather than assuming it from the NBN access technology. If you can't reach your NAS remotely with a direct connection, check with your ISP. Aussie Broadband offers a $5/month residential static-IP add-on, and Internode offers static IP through qualifying packs; TPG directs residential customers who need a static IP to its Business NBN plans. Alternatively, Tailscale VPN works through CGNAT without a static IP. see the remote access guide for setup instructions.
Step 4. Enable AI Indexing (Optional)
Face and object recognition are built into Synology Photos on supported models, subject to the applicable DSM, Synology Photos and memory requirements.
After installation, go to Synology Photos > Settings > Face Recognition and toggle it on. Initial indexing of your library will run in the background. Initial indexing runs in the background, and completion time varies with the library's size and formats, enabled recognition features, available memory and other NAS workloads. The NAS can be used normally during this time, though you may notice slightly slower response times.
Face grouping works by clustering similar faces. Once indexing completes, go to Albums > People to see detected face groups. You can name each person by clicking the group and entering a name. DSM will then group new photos automatically as they're added.
Subject categories (Animals, Food, Outdoor, etc.) appear under Albums > Things. These are generated automatically without any manual input.
Step 5. Create Shared Albums for Family Use
Shared albums let you curate collections and share them with specific users or via a public link. In Synology Photos, click Albums > + New Album. Choose Manual Album for a curated collection you add photos to individually, or Conditional Album to auto-populate based on date, tag, or camera metadata.
To share an album with family members: open the album, click the Share icon, and choose either Share with users on this NAS or Create share link. Share links can be set to expire after a period and optionally require a password. Useful for sending holiday photos to relatives without giving them a NAS account.
To build a combined family collection, have users contribute to a shared album with Provider permission or back up selected photos to Shared Space; a conditional album cannot pull directly from every user's private Personal Space. This gives the 'combined family timeline' experience without merging everyone's libraries permanently. Set it up under Shared Space > Albums > + New Album > Conditional Album and set the condition to include all owners.
Common Issues and Fixes
Photos not appearing after upload: Synology Photos thumbnails are generated asynchronously. After uploading a large batch, thumbnails may take several minutes to generate. If photos still don't appear after 10 minutes, check if the indexing service is running: Control Panel > Task Scheduler, look for the Photos indexing task.
Mobile app shows 'connection failed': Confirm the NAS is reachable on the local network first (try the IP address). If local works but remote fails, the issue is almost always port forwarding or CGNAT. Run the built-in NBN Remote Access Checker to diagnose connectivity.
Videos not playing: HEVC playback depends on how the video was added and on the playback device. Mobile-app backups are generally unaffected, while HEVC added through the web portal, File Station or SMB may need Synology Image Assistant to generate a compatible compressed version. The DS225+ and DS423 can do software transcoding but it's slow. For HEVC files that do not display in the web interface, use Synology Image Assistant as described in Synology's current compatibility guidance.
Storage running out: Use Storage Manager > Volume to monitor free space. Set per-user quotas in Control Panel > User > Edit > Quota to prevent any one person's library from filling the volume.
AU Pricing Context
Synology Photos is free. Available at no additional charge from Package Center on compatible Synology NAS models running DSM 7. There's no per-user licence fee, no subscription tier, and no storage cap beyond what your drives provide. Face and object recognition are included in Synology Photos on supported models; there is no separate Photos AI package.
If you're buying a Synology NAS specifically for photo management, the DS225+ (from~$638 at Mwave) is the minimum recommended model. It has enough CPU headroom for AI indexing on a personal library and supports the latest DSM. Add two drives: 4TB WD Red Plus pricing varies by retailer and should be checked live before purchase gives 4TB usable in RAID 1, Actual photo capacity varies substantially with camera format, resolution, compression and storage overhead. Total hardware outlay around $905 vs Google Photos at $4.49/month for 200GB; verify the current Australian price and plan name for higher storage tiers because they have changed. A NAS-versus-cloud break-even period depends on current hardware and subscription prices, required capacity, electricity, maintenance and drive replacement; the figures stated here do not establish payback in under five years.
Buying from an Australian retailer (Mwave, PLE, Scorptec, Umart) means full Australian Consumer Law protections. The DS225+ has a three-year limited hardware warranty in Australia. Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees are separate from the manufacturer's warranty and may continue beyond it depending on the circumstances. Synology may refuse manufacturer warranty service for products bought outside their original purchase country or from unauthorised sellers. Consumer rights for parallel or overseas purchases depend on the seller and transaction, and may be harder to enforce.
Related reading: our NAS buyer's guide, our Synology brand guide, and our NAS explainer.
Use our free NAS Sizing Wizard to get a personalised NAS recommendation.
See also: our complete Synology NAS Australia guide.
See also: our full Photo and Video Storage guide.
Can I use Synology Photos without an internet connection?
Yes. Synology Photos runs entirely on your local network. Internet access is only needed for remote access features (QuickConnect, DDNS) and for downloading the app. Photo storage, viewing, and mobile backup on the local network all work fully offline. This is one of the key advantages over Google Photos requires internet for cloud backup and cloud-only content, although media stored locally on the device can still be viewed offline.
What happened to Synology Moments and Photo Station?
Both were discontinued when Synology Photos launched with DSM 7.0 in 2021. If you're migrating from Photo Station, your photos in the photo shared folder carry over automatically. Synology Photos uses the same folder. During a supported DSM 7 migration, Moments data under /home/Drive/Moments is moved to /home/Photos automatically. Synology published a migration guide in the DSM 7.0 release notes. Before upgrading, confirm that Moments and Photo Station meet Synology's minimum migratable versions, then follow Synology's DSM 7 migration documentation.
How many users can use Synology Photos simultaneously?
Synology does not publish a separate universal concurrent-user limit for Synology Photos; practical capacity depends on the NAS model, memory, library and workload. In practice, performance degrades if many users are simultaneously uploading and indexing. For a household of 2-6 people, any current Synology model handles concurrent use comfortably. For small business use (10+ users), a DS1525+ or rack model is more appropriate to handle the indexing load without impacting other services running on the NAS.
Does Synology Photos support RAW files?
Yes, Synology Photos supports numerous RAW formats, including CR2, CR3, ARW, NEF, RAF and DNG, subject to its published supported-format list. Thumbnails are generated for most common RAW formats. However, thumbnail generation for RAW files is significantly slower than for JPEGs. Expect indexing to take longer on a large RAW library. Full editing of RAW files requires exporting to a desktop app; Synology Photos is for management and organisation, not editing.
Can I access Synology Photos via a web browser?
Yes. Go to your NAS IP address or QuickConnect URL in any browser, log in to DSM, and open the Synology Photos app. The web interface is functionally identical to the desktop app. For sharing albums with people who don't have a NAS account, use the share link feature. People without DSM credentials can view a public shared-album link. To let unauthenticated guests upload, create a separate Photo Request link for the album or destination folder.
How do I migrate from Google Photos to Synology Photos?
Use Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) to export your Google Photos library. Google Takeout exports media in zip archives in their applicable file formats, with secondary JSON files for additional metadata that is not embedded in the originals. Import the images into Synology Photos via File Station (drag to the photo folder or your Personal Space). Original-quality files normally retain their embedded timestamps. If Storage Saver was used or dates or locations were edited in Google Photos, the additional JSON metadata is not recognised automatically by Synology Photos and may need to be written back before import. Run a metadata fix tool like ExifTool on the exported files to embed the correct dates into EXIF before importing, otherwise photos may sort incorrectly by date in Synology Photos.
Thinking about using your NAS for remote photo access or backups from outside the home? Read the complete guide to Synology remote access over NBN. Covers QuickConnect, DDNS, and VPN options with Australian ISP context.