Using these self-hosted services has been made easier and more convenient thanks to their Android apps and shortcuts.
Self-hosting services save you from subscription costs and give you control over your data. While I’ve previously experimented with self-hosted media servers and file storage, I only really dove into self-hosting this year.
I’ve learned a lot over the past few months, but one thing I was happy to find out is just how many of these services can integrate with apps on your Android phone. The main benefit of this is that you can control your services even when you’re not at your main computer, but it also opens up a lot of usability through push notifications and frequent backups. Here are a few of my favorite self-hosted apps that I use with my own smartphone…1. Immich
Immich was one of the first self-hosted services that I tried out. If you’re not familiar with the platform, it’s a Google Photos alternative that lets you back up photos to your own server. Since I want to back up images from my phone, the Android app has been indispensable.
Immich has really evolved over the years and the app has a sleek appearance, with many of its features rivalling Google Photos. You can select specific folders you want to back up, while also enabling background syncing. I also like the fact that Immich includes the ability to search for specific people in your pictures. I do find that it’s sometimes slower than I would like, but it really feels empowering to have control over my own data.
When I finally do decide to cancel my Google One subscription, I’ll already have a well-tested system in place to replace it.2. Paperless-ngx
Every year when tax season comes around, I inevitably find myself looking for the documents I need in case my freelance expenses or medical cost claims are audited. But every time, no matter how organized I thought I was, some invoice ends up missing or a receipt is no longer where I left it. The folders I set aside to keep these documents have also become filled with paper, meaning it takes me longer to find everything while flipping through pages.
As a result, I’ve tried out different self-hosted services to help me scan and sort documents. One of these is Paperless-ngx, an open-source document management platform. The service is surprisingly easy to deploy in a Docker container, but using the companion mobile app also makes it more powerful.
Paperless Mobile is the app I use to connect to my Paperless-ngx server.
