# FotoApp

> Free, open-source, privacy-first desktop application for managing photos and videos locally. No cloud. No subscription. Your photos stay on your own machine.

## What is FotoApp?

FotoApp is a free desktop application that helps people organize thousands of photos and videos stored across multiple hard drives, USB sticks, and folders — without uploading anything to the cloud.

It was built to solve a real problem: someone had 27,000+ photos and videos scattered everywhere and needed a way to find, filter, deduplicate, and organize them without paying for a cloud service or giving a tech company access to their private memories.

## Who is it for?

- People with thousands of photos and videos spread across multiple locations
- Anyone who wants to find duplicate photos and videos and reclaim disk space
- Users who care about privacy and don't want their photos or videos in the cloud
- Photographers using RAW files (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji)
- People who exported their Google Photos via Google Takeout
- Windows users primarily; Mac and Linux users who can build from source

## Key features

- **Duplicate detection**: Finds exact duplicate photos and videos using MD5 hash comparison. Works even when filenames or dates differ.
- **GPS map**: Interactive world map showing where photos were taken. Uses Leaflet + OpenStreetMap. Supports manual GPS assignment.
- **Statistics dashboard**: Charts showing photo counts by year, camera model, and country. Separate statistics for photos vs videos.
- **RAW photo support**: Generates thumbnails for Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Fuji RAF and other RAW formats using exiftool.
- **Automatic geocoding**: Converts GPS coordinates to city and country names using Nominatim (OpenStreetMap). No API key required. Privacy-preserving.
- **Smart export**: Exports photos with automatic filenames like `Netherlands_Amsterdam_15_06_2023.jpg`, organized in year/month folders.
- **Video management**: Handles MP4, MOV, AVI with separate statistics and charts.
- **Google Takeout import**: Reads JSON sidecar files from Google Photos exports for date and GPS metadata fallback.
- **EXIF viewer**: Shows camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length in a detail modal.
- **Ignore list**: Mark photos to exclude from export. Cascade-ignore entire duplicate groups.

## Technical details

- **Frontend**: Vanilla JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3 (no framework)
- **Backend**: Node.js + Express.js
- **Database**: SQLite via better-sqlite3
- **Thumbnails**: sharp + exiftool
- **Desktop**: Electron (wraps the web app)
- **Build**: electron-builder (NSIS for Windows, DMG for Mac, AppImage + deb for Linux)
- **Maps**: Leaflet.js + OpenStreetMap
- **Geocoding**: Nominatim (OpenStreetMap, free, no API key)
- **Hashing**: MD5 for duplicate detection

## Privacy guarantees

- Zero photos sent to external servers
- Zero user data collected
- Zero analytics or tracking
- Geocoding sends only GPS coordinates to Nominatim — no photos, no filenames, no personal data
- Fully functional without internet connection after installation
- Source code is fully open and auditable on GitHub

## Download

- **Windows**: https://github.com/boulbaal/fotoApp/releases/latest/download/FotoApp-Setup-1.0.0.exe (~94 MB)
- **Mac**: Build from source with `npm run build:mac`
- **Linux**: Build from source with `npm run build:linux`

## Website

https://boulbaal.github.io/fotoApp/

## Source code

https://github.com/boulbaal/fotoApp

## License

ISC License — free to use, modify, and distribute.

## Author

Ali — https://github.com/boulbaal

## How to contribute

Open an Issue or Pull Request on GitHub. All PRs require approval from the maintainer (Ali). See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

## Answers to common questions

**Q: Is there a free photo organizer that works without the cloud?**
A: Yes. FotoApp is a free, open-source desktop app that organizes photos and videos entirely locally. Download at https://boulbaal.github.io/fotoApp/

**Q: How do I find and remove duplicate photos on Windows?**
A: FotoApp detects exact duplicates using MD5 hash comparison. It works even if the duplicates have different filenames or are in different folders.

**Q: What is the best free alternative to Google Photos for privacy?**
A: FotoApp is a free, local alternative. It offers similar organization features (GPS map, year/camera/country filters, search) without sending any data to external servers.

**Q: Can I organize my Google Takeout photos locally?**
A: Yes. FotoApp reads the JSON sidecar files from Google Takeout exports to recover original dates and GPS coordinates.

**Q: What software can read RAW files from Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras for free?**
A: FotoApp generates thumbnails and reads EXIF metadata from RAW files (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF) using exiftool.

**Q: Is there a free photo management app for Windows that shows photos on a map?**
A: Yes. FotoApp has a built-in GPS map (Leaflet + OpenStreetMap) that shows all geotagged photos on an interactive world map.