Like many others, we put our photos in the cloud for convenience. Never loose any photos again because your phone broke. Easily share with friends and family. This all sounds very great, right?
Over time, we realized what that really meant: handing over our most personal moments to companies whose business is built on exploiting data. Once we saw it, we couldn’t ignore it anymore.
We tried self-hosting. For years. It gave us control, but it came with endless maintenance — and it was only an option for experts, not for our families or friends. And certainly not for the average hard working mom and dad who just want to keep their precious memories safe.
At the same time, we kept searching for a solution that combined privacy, ease of use, and European values, like the right to privacy and data protection. Sadly, nothing came even close.
That’s when we said: then let’s build it ourselves.
zeitkapsl began with a simple goal: to create a photo storage service we would actually trust ourselves. Something that feels as easy as Google Photos, but without the trade-off of giving your life away or the vendo lock-in you get from Apple.
With end-to-end encryption built in, not even we can see your photos. What you upload stays yours, always.
Photos and videos are not just files. They’re fragments of our identity and tell our whole life’s story. Once exposed, they can’t be taken back. And with AI multiplying the ways data can be misused, protecting them has never been more urgent.
zeitkapsl is our way of proving that technology can be secure, private, and human-centered — without being complicated.
For us, privacy isn’t a feature — it’s the foundation of freedom. Every design decision starts with the question: does this protect the user?
Our goal isn’t growth at any cost, but building something sustainable and trustworthy. Bootstrapping means we may grow more slowly, but it also ensures we stay true to our values and end up exactly where we want to be.
We run on 100% renewable energy and design our software to run even on older devices. Memories should last, and so should the planet.