Somewhen

Somewhen is an iPhone app that backs up the photos and videos you choose to your own Google Drive — organised into Year / City, Country folders — without ever changing your photo library.

What Somewhen does

Somewhen's purpose is to keep safe copies of your photo library in storage you control. You pick photos and videos in the app, and Somewhen uploads copies of the untouched originals to a Somewhen/ folder in your own Google Drive, sorted by year and the place they were taken. Duplicates are detected on your iPhone so nothing is ever uploaded twice, and an interrupted backup resumes where it left off. Somewhen has no servers of its own: your photos move directly from your iPhone to your Google Drive.

How Somewhen uses your Google account

Somewhen signs you in with Google and requests only the drive.file permission, which limits the app to files and folders it creates itself. It uploads the photos and videos you select and reads back only its own uploads to keep your backup index accurate. It cannot see or touch anything else in your Drive, and it never shares your data with anyone — see the Privacy Policy.

Frequently asked questions

Where do my photos go?

To your own Google Drive, under a Somewhen/ folder, using your own Google credentials. Nothing passes through any server of ours — Somewhen has no backend.

Does Somewhen ever delete or change my photos?

No. Somewhen only ever reads and copies. Your originals in the Photos app are never modified or deleted, and the app never deletes the backed-up files in your Drive.

What does the Google permission allow?

Somewhen uses Google's drive.file permission, which limits it to the files and folders it creates in your Drive. It cannot see or touch anything else in your Drive.

How do I back up?

Sign in with Google, pick the photos and videos you want in the grid, and start the backup. You can pause and resume at any time; an interrupted run continues where it left off without re-uploading.

Are videos supported?

Yes. Videos back up over Wi-Fi and stream directly to your Drive.

How do I delete my data?

In Settings, Delete Account revokes Somewhen's Google access and erases all on-device data; files already in your Drive are left in place. Sign Out clears the on-device index only.

Privacy

Read the full Privacy Policy.