Photography · macOS app
Pocket Album
Your photo backup, finally browsable.
A native Mac app that turns a folder of photos on an external drive into a real library: sorted by date, grouped into trips and people automatically, and updated the moment new photos are added.
- Platforms
- macOS
- Role
- Product, design & engineering
- Built with
- SwiftSwiftUI + AppKitSQLiteVision + Core MLFSEventsAVFoundation · ImageIO
The challenge
Why we built it
Plenty of people keep their photos as a backup on an external drive, copied out of iCloud or a phone. Once they are there, the only way to look at them is Finder: thousands of files called IMG_4225.jpg, in folders, with no dates, places or faces. We wanted those photos to be as pleasant to browse as a photo app, without importing them anywhere, uploading anything or touching the original files.
Screens
A library for the photos on your drive
Our approach
How we designed and built it
Works with the folder you already have
Point it at any folder on any drive and it scans every subfolder for photos and videos, keeping its index in one small hidden folder next to them. The original files are never moved, renamed or changed, and the library opens on any Mac the drive is plugged into.
Organised automatically, on the device
Trips are found from where and when photos were taken, then named after the places visited. Faces are detected and grouped into people with an on-device model, and likely matches are suggested for a one-click merge. Nothing leaves the Mac.
Native and fast at any size
Built in Swift with SwiftUI and AppKit, with a custom grid that stays smooth with 100,000+ items. The folder is watched for changes, so photos copied to the drive appear on their own, and an unplugged drive is handled without losing anything.
Features
What's inside
- Recursive scanning of any folder or external drive
- Live updates when photos are added, moved or deleted
- Automatic trips, laid out day by day and named after the places visited
- On-device face grouping with merge suggestions
- Places map, albums and favourites
- Search by file or folder name, trip, person, album or date (“10th jan”, “10/01/2026”)
- Live Photos, videos, RAW and HEIC support, plus a details panel with camera and exposure
- Light and dark themes
Outcome
Results
- Signed with Developer ID and notarised by Apple, as a universal app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs
- A test library of 7,680 photos indexed in about 20 seconds on an M2 Mac
- Free, with no account, no uploads and no changes to the original files
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