explaingit

aks-labs/cloudgallery

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 395KotlinAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

An open-source Android app that backs up your photos to Telegram instead of Google Photos or iCloud, for free unlimited storage.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((CloudGallery))
    What it does
      Telegram backup
      Encrypted keystore
      Direct upload
    Tech stack
      Kotlin
      Jetpack Compose
    Use cases
      Photo backup
      Privacy alternative
      No middle server
    Audience
      Privacy-conscious users

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Back up Android photos automatically to your own Telegram bot instead of a commercial cloud service.

USE CASE 2

Avoid having photos scanned for ad-targeting data by mainstream cloud photo services.

USE CASE 3

Keep bot credentials stored only on your device in Android's encrypted keystore.

What is it built with?

KotlinJetpack Compose

How does it compare?

aks-labs/cloudgallerydominostars/playtranslatenuviomedia/nuviodesktop
Stars395356324
LanguageKotlinKotlinKotlin
Setup difficultymoderate——
Complexity2/5——
Audiencegeneralgeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires creating your own Telegram bot and linking it before backups can start.

In plain English

CloudGallery, also called Chitralaya, is a free open-source Android app that uses your Telegram account as a private photo backup destination. Instead of uploading photos to a commercial cloud storage service like Google Photos or iCloud, the app sends your images directly from your phone to a Telegram bot linked to your own account, using Telegram's messaging infrastructure as essentially free unlimited storage. The developer built it as a privacy-conscious alternative to mainstream cloud services, pointing out that services like Google Photos scan your photos for data that feeds advertising systems. The app stores your Telegram bot credentials on the device using Android's built-in encrypted keystore so they never leave your phone. Photos are sent directly to Telegram without passing through any intermediate server. The readme is candid about Telegram's own limitations: while data is encrypted in transit, Telegram does not use end-to-end encryption for regular cloud storage, so the trade-off is replacing one company's data access with another's. The app is built in Kotlin using Jetpack Compose for its interface, targets Android API 29 and above, and follows Material You design conventions. The code is fully open source.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through setting up a Telegram bot and connecting it to CloudGallery for photo backup.
Prompt 2
Explain the privacy tradeoffs of using Telegram instead of Google Photos for backup, based on this app's readme.
Prompt 3
Help me build a similar Jetpack Compose Android app that uses Telegram's Bot API for storage.

Frequently asked questions

What is cloudgallery?

An open-source Android app that backs up your photos to Telegram instead of Google Photos or iCloud, for free unlimited storage.

What language is cloudgallery written in?

Mainly Kotlin. The stack also includes Kotlin, Jetpack Compose.

How hard is cloudgallery to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is cloudgallery for?

Mainly general.

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