Automatic backup

Automatic backup uploads new photos and videos from selected folders to your encrypted zeitkapsl library. Files are encrypted on your device before upload.

You are asked to enable automatic backup when you first set up the mobile app. You can change it at any time later in settings.

What gets backed up

When automatic backup is on, the app watches your selected device folders and uploads anything new it finds. Everything is encrypted on your device first, so your photos are never readable by anyone but you, not even while they are being uploaded.

By default the app backs up common folders like Camera, Screenshots, and Downloads. You can add or remove folders in settings to control exactly what gets backed up. If you would rather pick items by hand, leave automatic backup off and upload manually (see below).

Photos appear before they finish uploading

New photos show up in your grid straight away using the file's creation date from your device. The app reads the full embedded metadata (original capture date, camera, GPS) during upload, and the photo settles into its correct position once that finishes. This is a deliberate trade-off: it lets even libraries with tens of thousands of photos open instantly instead of waiting for every file to be parsed.

Handling of edited files on iOS

On iOS, the current version of the file at the time of upload is uploaded to zeitkapsl. Edits that happen after the initial upload to zeitkapsl are currently ignored.

Wi-Fi and mobile data

By default, backup only runs over Wi-Fi. This avoids using up your mobile data plan on large photo and video uploads. If you want backups to run everywhere, enable mobile data backup in settings. When you are off Wi-Fi with mobile data backup disabled, the app simply waits and shows how many items are pending, then continues automatically once you are back on Wi-Fi.

Photos, videos, or both

You can choose to back up photos only, videos only, or both. Videos are usually far larger than photos, so turning video backup off is a simple way to save space and bandwidth if you mainly care about your photos.

WARNING

If you disable both photos and videos, nothing is uploaded and backup effectively does nothing.

Manual upload

You do not have to use automatic backup. To upload items yourself:

• Mobile: select one or more items in the grid and tap Upload in the action bar.
• Web: open the menu on the search bar and choose Upload, then pick the files.
• Desktop: point the app at a folder to back up whole directories at once. See the desktop app.

Storage overhead

Backed-up storage usage is higher than the raw size of your originals. To keep photos and videos quickly viewable on every device, zeitkapsl stores extra representations alongside each original:

• Videos: a FullHD version (max 4 Mbps bitrate) so they play and stream smoothly everywhere, in addition to the original.
• Photos: three extra versions, a 250px square preview, a 250px-tall aspect-preserving preview, and a 1920px long-edge version for the large view. Encoded as lossy WebP at quality 85, this typically adds 5 to 15% per photo.

Deleting and re-backup

When you delete an item from zeitkapsl, the app remembers that deletion across your devices so automatic backup does not simply upload the same photo again on the next scan. This marker is what stops a deleted photo from reappearing. See deleting photos and videos for the full details.