The chat keeps moving. The memories can stay.
Looly: a place for family photos beyond the WhatsApp chat
Looly is an alternative to using a WhatsApp group as your family photo album. Keep WhatsApp for conversation and use Looly for a timeline of chosen photos, originals and comments. Looly costs €99/year or €12/month with 250 GB, and invited relatives join free. The trade-off is a new invitation and sign-in step.
By Tillmann Bedau · Looly · Updated
| Family need | Looly approach | Chat approach |
|---|---|---|
| Find an older memory | Timeline and albums in a dedicated family space | Find it among conversations and shared media |
| Keep an original | Original upload retained separately from previews | Check the actual file and sending method |
| Share with grandparents | Invite them; sign in with an email code | Keep the family’s existing chat habit |
| Control access | Private circle membership and roles | Check group participants and forwarding practices |
| Keep a separate archive | Whole-circle download for administrators | Keep independent copies of important files |
Do we have to leave the family group chat?
No. A chat can remain the best place for “we are five minutes late” and quick replies. Looly gives family photos a separate home so a birthday picture does not disappear between logistics.
Try sharing one small set of photos to Looly and a link to the sign-in page in your existing chat. Invite each relative to the circle first; a link by itself does not grant access.
Is WhatsApp HD the same as keeping my camera original?
WhatsApp documents Standard and HD media settings, including an HD default. It also says previously sent photos cannot be upgraded in place. That documentation does not establish that every HD transfer is a byte-identical camera original. We have not run a cross-device compression benchmark and do not publish invented size or resolution figures.
If preserving a file matters, keep the original and compare an actual download. Looly retains uploaded originals unchanged and makes display copies separately. This distinction applies to videos as well as photos.
What will grandparents have to do?
They accept an invitation and sign in with an email code. They can then use a browser on a phone, tablet or computer, including Android. Viewing and commenting do not require their own subscription.
Stay with the tools your relatives can actually use. Try the invitation together before assuming a different app will make sharing easier.
Does moving photos change our privacy responsibilities?
A private circle controls who can open the photo in Looly, but cannot prevent an invited person from saving or reposting it. Agree on a family rule for sharing children’s pictures outside the circle.
This is an organization and original-storage comparison, not a claim that Looly has stronger encryption than WhatsApp. Looly is not end-to-end encrypted; read the security page before choosing it for sensitive material.
What to know before you start
Looly is not end-to-end encrypted. Originals are stored in the EU; processing and delivery can operate globally. Relatives must sign in. Android access is through the browser. Importing cannot restore quality missing from a source file. Recurring plans start with a 14-day trial, require a card and renew automatically unless you cancel before the trial ends.
Read the privacy and access detailsSources and editorial notes
Looly product details are first-party statements checked against the current implementation. This is not an independent review. Provider details are dated snapshots; local prices and features may differ.
Change log · 2026-09-16: Published with current Looly product details and source checks.
Cite as: Tillmann Bedau, Looly. “Looly: a place for family photos beyond the WhatsApp chat” (2026-09-16). https://looly.app/compare/whatsapp-alternative-for-family-photos.