I take a lot of pictures… a LOT!! And while I do take them, I am not always great about sharing them. ibi, the smart photo manager, is here to help. It was created to help you easily store, manage, and share your photos and videos with family and friends.
One problem with sharing photos with some family and friends is the level of learning that comes along with it. Sharing photos with Grandma? You will have to teach her what to do after clicking on the link. ibi makes it easy to share with anyone, no matter how tech savvy they are.
For testing, I added a few pictures from our vacation to New Orleans. We just returned at 1am on Monday morning. YAWN!! This gave me a great reason to go through our photos sooner rather than later.
ibi Specifications
- 2TB of hard drive space
- Holds over 500,000 photos
- Holds over 200+ hours of video
- Attractive design
Who Needs ibi?
ibi is for those of you that take a lot of photos, want to share with friends and family, and may be one of those people that does not trust “The Cloud.” It is also for those of us that do. Listen… I am not going to stop using my favorite Cloud service. It’s easy for me when it comes time to share photos with photography clients or friends that I do not necessarily consider part of my inner circle.
And, when it comes to my personal files, I am all about double protection. My photos are very important to me and I am totally okay with having them backed up to more than one place.
So, ibi is also for those of us that want double protection for our photos. And, since your ibi lives at your house, there is no worry of others getting their hands or prying eyes on your files. You can tuck it away in your office, or on a shelf and know where your data is at all times.
The ibi Desktop Application
One thing I love about ibi is that it actually has a desktop application. Similar to other cloud syncing applications, it allows you to browse your files, drag and drop to add photos and videos, or use the web interface to access your ibi and settings. Because, while I do take most photos from my phone these days, I prefer to browse and organize from my computer. The ibi app creates a mapped folder on your desktop, much like any other folder that allows you to view, copy, drag and drop files directly from your computer to ibi, or vice versa. I love this.
One thing I noticed that seems strange is that I can create a folder on the mapped drive for ibi on my computer, and put some photos in it. However, this folder does not carry through to the ibi app. It would be awesome if creating a folder automatically created a corresponding album in the ibi app.
The ibi desktop application is available for both Mac and PC.
Sharing
ibi makes sharing photos and videos very easy. You have the option of sharing only one photo, or a whole album. Or, you may choose to share something to your Inner Circle, a private feed for your close friends and family, rather than having to choose each person individually. And they do not need their own ibi. You only need the one! And you can add friends and family who get their own space for sharing, too.
When you create an album, you are able to choose a cover photo. I was surprised to see that I could not drag my cover photo to make it fit a bit better. But, this is not too big of a deal since it’s not publicly viewable.
When sharing, you can either share a link for viewing only, or you can invite them to collaborate. The recipient will get an email and a Push notification (if they already have the ibi app). All they need to do is click on either to gain access. From here they can view or add photos to the album.
Backing Up
Not only does ibi allow you to manually add photos and videos, but you can enable automatic backup, so your photos are immediately backed up, even when out. You can set it to backup over WiFi only, or even over cellular data. I only recommend this option if you have an unlimited data plan. Set it once, and the rest happens in the background.
How Much Does ibi Cost?
Unlike some other Cloud based photo sharing and storage services, ibi has no monthly cost. For a one-time fee of $179.99, you get 2TB of space that you can use as much as you like and share it with family and friends. Buy right now through June 15th on meetibi.com and get $30 off your ibi!
Check out the video below for more information:
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by ibi. All opinions are my own.
See also:
I have been struggling to find out how this thing works. And if it’s encrypted. Anything that travels over the internet via a we browser or app that isn’t encrypted is open to the world to see. I can’t find anyone anywhere who can explain HOW this works, as in, when you “share” something, is it copied to the ibi cloud somewhere or is it a lone webserver? Web servers serving up images from links need open ports on a router inside your home. I can’t imagine this app grants access to a router in a residential home??? Because if it is, it’s not secure OR private. There is so much information missing from this idea of “private” and I can’t find anyone who has answers.
Hi Missy! Sorry that I am just getting back to you. I did a bit more research for you… Your photos are stored ON the ibi itself, not in the Cloud. When you share a photo the user is given a private link to view the photo directly on your device, not the Cloud. When you share a photo, it NEVER leaves your device. It is not copied to a Cloud at all. So, if someone has a link to one of your photos, but you unplug your device, that link is then null and useless. So data is transferred.
I hope that helps.
Kris