Category:

Stories

The Cross-Platform Family Photo Crisis.

by Alex Li December 10, 2024

Smartphones have revolutionized how we take photos, but they’ve also created a silent crisis. Today, an average family photo library is a labyrinth: thousands of moments scattered across iOS and Android devices, Windows PCs, Macs, external storage, social media, and Cloud platforms with no simple way to bring them together.

Big tech has pushed cloud storage as the answer. But while clouds are convenient, they come with trade-offs—pricey subscriptions, privacy concerns, and a dependency on infrastructure that feels precarious in a world of data breaches and outages.

What if there was another way? A more clever way to sync, search, and share family photos across platforms without facing the limits of operating systems or uploading your life to the cloud?

That’s the promise of Mylio, software designed to solve the fragmented media problem. It hopes to connect generations and preserve the family legacy.

The Real Problem Isn’t Storage—It’s Connection

If you’ve ever tried to track down an old vacation photo, you’ve likely confronted the chaos of modern photo management. Your iPhone library might sync to iCloud, but what about the pictures on your partner’s Android phone? Or those family scans hidden on the old Windows desktop that everyone’s too afraid to move?

The problem isn’t that we lack storage; our storage solutions don’t talk to each other. Apple wants you to use iCloud, and Google wants you to use the Google Cloud. Every tech giant has its agenda, and your memories get caught in the middle.

This fragmentation isn’t just inconvenient; it erodes something fundamental. Photos are personal—they’re our family history, our legacy. When scattered across platforms, they lose their context and connection to the people who created them.

Mylio’s Radical Simplicity

Unlike cloud-reliant platforms, Mylio takes a decentralized approach. It syncs your photos directly between devices, using your local network whenever possible. That means no uploading to servers, no internet dependency, and no need to fit your life into someone else’s model.

It sounds almost old-fashioned in today’s cloud-dominated world, but the result is refreshingly modern. Syncing is fast, private, and platform-agnostic. Your Android phone, MacBook, Windows desktop, and iPad all become part of a seamless network, sharing photos in a way that feels invisible.

Even more impressive is Mylio’s search function. It doesn’t just index photos on your current device; it searches across every device in your library. Imagine needing a picture from your spouse’s laptop while sitting with your phone—it’s instantly accessible as if the whole system were one.

The Family Library, Reimagined

But Mylio isn’t just a solution for the technical mess of photo management. It also offers something far more human: the ability to create a shared family library.

This isn’t the kind of “sharing” you see on cloud platforms, where you grant access to an album or send links. Mylio’s shared library is collaborative. Family members can contribute photos, organize albums, and even add scanned images from decades ago. It’s an evolving archive where everyone’s memories can live side by side.

Consider this: a grandparent scanning old photo albums into Mylio while the next generation adds pictures from last weekend’s soccer game. Instead of separate silos, you end up with a unified timeline that tells a more affluent, multi-generational story.

This feels particularly timely as families become more dispersed—geographically and digitally—Mylio offers a way to stay connected, not just through technology but through the memories that define us.

What Happens When Devices Fail?

Device failure is a matter of when not if. Phones get lost, laptops crash, and hard drives fail, often destroying irreplaceable memories. Mylio’s vaults provide a simple but powerful safeguard. Acting as local or external backups, they protect your library from disaster.

You decide where the backups live: on an external drive, a trusted computer, in the cloud, or on all platforms simultaneously. The system is decentralized and entirely under your control. This focus on redundancy feels almost old-school in its practicality, but it’s a welcome relief in an era where “backup” often means handing over your life to a corporation.

A Quiet Fix for a Noisy Problem

Mylio solves a problem most people didn’t realize could be solved: preserving and organizing life’s moments without sacrificing privacy, speed, or usability.

What’s remarkable isn’t just that Mylio works—it feels designed for people, not platforms. It doesn’t care if you’re using a Mac, PC, iPhone, or an Android mobile device. You get the same experience across all the platforms. What it cares about is the story you’re trying to tell and the memories you’re trying to keep.

In a world of tech companies trying to lock you inside their ecosystems, Mylio is a rare tool. It doesn’t demand much attention; it just works.

And for anyone trying to make sense of their digital photo chaos, that might be the most revolutionary thing.

December 10, 2024 0 comment

The Stories That Connect Us: How to Share and Preserve Your Family’s Memories

by Alex Li November 27, 2024

Sharing Family Stories Matters More Than You Think.

When I was little, my uncle would tell me stories about his teenage years in Ukraine (part of the Soviet Union back then). He was obsessed with rock music—Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Deep Purple. His friends from Germany would bring vinyl records, and he’d trade them like treasures.

He talked about saving up for weeks to buy a rare album from someone in a back-alley deal or the thrill of sneaking into a friend’s flat to listen to music they weren’t supposed to have.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand why these stories mattered to him so much. But now, I see how they shaped who he was—his resourcefulness, passion, and belief that music could connect people, even across borders.

Family stories like his aren’t just fun anecdotes. They’re glimpses into what shaped the people we love—and a way to understand the world they lived in.

Why Family Stories Matter

Have you ever listened to a story that made you feel like stepping into someone else’s shoes? Maybe it was a tale that made you laugh or something bittersweet that stayed with you long after.

Family stories like these aren’t just about nostalgia. They’re a kind of invisible glue connecting us and the generations before us.

These stories are especially powerful for kids. Research shows that children who know their family’s history—like their parents’ struggles and triumphs or their grandparents’ quirks—tend to feel more grounded and confident. Knowing that their family faces challenges and overcomes them helps them see life’s difficulties as something they can handle.

For the rest of us, stories remind us of our roots. They help us understand our families—and ourselves—a little better.

How to Start the Conversation

If you’re lucky, your kids or grandkids have probably asked you to share stories from your childhood. Maybe it happened while flipping through old photos or during a quiet moment at the dinner table. Never say no to these moments. They’re a chance to pass down memories and a sense of identity.

If you’re unsure where to start—or if it’s been a while since you revisited those memories—look through your old albums and keepsakes. Better yet, if you’ve organized them in a Mylio library, you can easily find those snapshots of your youth to spark your memory.

A photo of your first bike, a family trip, or graduation day can lead to a story your family will treasure forever. If your memories are scattered across boxes and devices, the Mylio Family can help you bring them together so nothing gets lost.

For instance, I’ve often told my kids about how my uncle made me sandwiches when I visited him as a college student or went on a school trip. His sandwiches were always the best—the bread was perfectly sliced, and he had things in his fridge that we didn’t usually have at home. Even the most ordinary ingredients tasted extraordinary when he made them. It’s a small memory that always brings a smile to my face and helps my kids see a different side of my life.

Here are some other ways to keep the stories flowing:

Pull Out a Photo and Ask, “Do You Remember?”
Even if the photo’s story isn’t clear at first, it might jog a memory or spark a new perspective. A black-and-white shot of a family celebration might remind you of the music, the jokes, or even the struggles of that time.

Revisit Old Passions and Hobbies
What was something you loved as a teenager or young adult? Whether collecting vinyl records, playing sports, or building model planes, your passion likely came with stories—how you got started, the friends you made, and the lessons you learned. Don’t hesitate to bring those stories to life by connecting them to tangible keepsakes like a well-worn record sleeve or an old trophy you still have tucked away.

Preserve Memories as You Go
As you start rediscovering these stories, don’t let them fade. Use Mylio Family to keep your photos, notes, and recorded audio clips in one place. It’s an easy way to ensure that these memories aren’t just enjoyed today and saved for future generations to revisit and cherish.

Recreate a Family Recipe and the Story Behind It
Cooking together is a natural way to share stories. As you prepare a dish, talk about where it came from—who taught you how to make it, the first time you cooked it, or the special occasions it reminds you of. Recipes often come with their histories; sharing them with younger generations is like handing down a piece of your family’s culture.

You can even print a collection of family recipes as a book with Printique. What a great way to preserve memories!

Stories for Every Stage of Life.

The beauty of family stories is that they can be tailored to different ages and moments:

For Kids: Share funny, lighthearted stories—like when your uncle tried to teach himself guitar and accidentally snapped a string during a school performance.

For Teens: Open up about passion and rebellion. My uncle’s love for rock music wasn’t just about the songs but about finding freedom in a system that didn’t always allow it. Teens love hearing about what made older generations “cool” in their way.

For Adults: Dive deeper into the connections between the past and present. How did your family’s experiences shape the values they hold today? What sacrifices did they make to follow their dreams?

For Yourself: Find time to review the moments that matter. Instead of scrolling endlessly through social media, take a step back and reconnect with the photos that truly shaped your life—the ones that bring joy, meaning, and perspective. With Mylio, you can carry a lifetime of memories in your pocket, ready to revisit whenever you need them. Just ask Matthew Jordan Smith, the world-renowned photographer who keeps over two million personal and professional images organized and accessible with Mylio.

Why It’s Worth the Effort?

Family stories aren’t just about the past—they’re about building bridges. They help us see our loved ones in a new light, reminding us that the things they cared about, fought for, and cherished are also part of us.

At Mylio, we believe those moments deserve to be preserved. Whether it’s a story about trading vinyl records in a time of scarcity or an old photo that sparks a hundred memories, every piece matters. These threads connect us across generations, helping us remember who we are and where we come from.

So, pull out a record, ask a question, or take a moment to share something about yourself. You never know what stories you might discover—or what they’ll mean to the people you love.

November 27, 2024 0 comment

Stories Trending

Will Your Grandchildren Remember You?

by Alex Li November 22, 2024

In four generations, you might be forgotten.

That isn’t a pessimistic guess; it’s a reality many families experience. Stories, traditions, and even names fade away as time moves forward.

While we live in an era where documenting moments has never been easier, we’ve unintentionally created a paradox: the more content we make, the harder it becomes to preserve what matters.

This isn’t just a matter of nostalgia. Family history grounds us. Research indicates that children familiar with their family’s history tend to exhibit higher self-esteem and greater resilience.

Families that shared coherent narratives also saw their children develop better self-esteem and social competence and experience less anxiety and stress. But how do we pass that knowledge on in a way that survives the tidal wave of digital clutter we’ve created?

The Hidden Cost of Too Much Content

On an old hard drive, there’s a folder you last opened years ago. Inside, you might find the photos from your child’s first birthday, a blurry snapshot of your grandparents dancing at a wedding, or the scanned letters your mother kept in a shoebox.

If those memories were lost tomorrow, would anyone even know they existed?

Families today aren’t failing to document their lives. We have thousands of photos, videos, and audio recordings spread across phones, laptops, and clouds. Yet this abundance has created a profound problem: the more we save, the more we bury.

When content is scattered and disorganized, it becomes inaccessible. Worse, the context—the stories and emotions that turn a photograph into a cherished memory—is rarely preserved. For example, a photo of a wedding dress loses its meaning if no one remembers the bride’s name.

The Challenge of Connection

The problem is more than just storage; it’s disconnection. Family members contribute their photos, videos, and memories but rarely collaborate to preserve a shared history. As a result, our archives are fragmented across devices and generations, each piece isolated from the larger story.

This disconnection grows with every passing year. If your family doesn’t actively document and organize its history, future generations may have nothing meaningful to inherit. The stories your grandparents told you, the faces in the photo albums, even the everyday moments that capture your life today—all of it could be lost.

Building a Family Archive That Lasts

There’s a growing recognition that families need more than just tools to store files; they need a shared system that makes memories accessible, organized, and collaborative.

Mylio Family is one approach to solving this.

The idea is simple: a shared library where all family members can contribute to and access the family’s history. Mylio allows you to combine photos, videos, documents, and scanned memorabilia in one place. But what makes it unique is its focus on connection.

Families can view and curate their shared library together, ensuring that the essential stories and faces don’t fade into obscurity. For example, imagine you’re scanning old family photo albums from your parents’ attic.

With Mylio, you can bring those photos in a beautiful LifeCalendar, add context—names, dates, and stories—and share them in real-time with your siblings, children, and cousins. Your brother might add his wedding photos, your niece could upload her graduation pictures, and your parents might include scanned letters or documents.

The result is a living, breathing family archive that spans generations. It’s not just about preservation—it’s about present-day connections.

How Families Use Mylio

Families use Mylio in different ways that are tailored to their needs. Some use it to create a chronological timeline of family events, while others use it to preserve the legacy of a family member who has passed away.

One family used Mylio to digitize decades of home videos and photos, bringing together a scattered archive that had previously lived on VHS tapes, DVDs, and dusty hard drives. Another used it to document their genealogy research, linking old photographs with newly uncovered family records. In both cases, the shared library became more than just a collection of files—it became a tool for connection.

Mylio Family Plan allows up to 10 people to collaborate. Everyone has access to the same library and can contribute their photos or memories, ensuring that family history isn’t just preserved but enriched by multiple perspectives.

A Call to Action for Families

We’re at a unique moment in history. We have the tools to preserve our family legacies in ways previous generations could only dream of. But with those tools comes responsibility.

If you do not take steps now to organize your family’s stories, they may remain in the growing void of digital noise.

Your great-grandchildren may know nothing of the lives you led, the struggles you faced, or the love you shared. The opportunity is here, but it’s fleeting. Family connections and histories aren’t eternal—they require care, attention, and action.

November 22, 2024 0 comment

Featured Photography Stories

VIEWBUG and Mylio Team Up. Finding Your Best Shots Just Got Easier!

by Alex Li October 3, 2024

4 minutes read

If you’ve ever scrolled frantically through your devices the night before a photo contest deadline, searching for that perfect shot you know you took but can’t quite locate, you’re not alone. Many photographers struggle with having their photos scattered across phones, laptops, external drives, and various cloud services. This modern problem can dampen the creative process.

Recognizing this common struggle, VIEWBUG and Mylio have partnered to offer a solution that keeps you focused on what you love—capturing and sharing stunning images.

The Challenge of the Elusive Photo

Consider this: You remember capturing an incredible portrait during your travels last year. It’s the ideal image for VIEWBUG’s upcoming “Fun Portraits” contest. You also remember your friend enjoying her ice cream in that photo. But where is it saved? On your other phone? An SD card tucked away in a drawer? It could be in several cloud accounts you’ve used over the years.

This fragmentation not only eats up your time but also adds unnecessary stress. Instead of editing and perfecting your submission, you’re on a digital scavenger hunt.

A Seamless Way to Access Your Photos

With VIEWBUG integrated into your Mylio Photos experience, you can showcase any photo to millions of photo enthusiasts in just a few clicks.

Mylio syncs images securely across all your devices without forcing you to keep everything in the cloud. Hence, the sunset shot from a hard drive that is miles away is accessible instantly on your smartphone, as if you took it yesterday.

Imagine opening Mylio Photos, typing “Ice Cream” into the search bar, and instantly seeing all your photos with Ice Cream appear—even those you hadn’t tagged.

From there, selecting and uploading your image to VIEWBUG takes just a few clicks.

Where This Helps

Last-Minute Entries: Say you’re traveling and only have your tablet. A contest catches your eye, and you recall a photo that’s perfect for it. With Mylio Photos, you can find and submit that image directly from your tablet, even if the original file is on your home computer an ocean away.

Curating Portfolios: You may work on a series of black-and-white portraits for your VIEWBUG profile. Instead of combing through each device, you can filter your entire collection in Mylio by “people,” streamlining the curation process.

Organizing Themes: Photographers often work on thematic projects over long periods. With Mylio Photos, you can create albums or folders for themes like “Urban Exploration” or “Wildlife,” making finding and submitting relevant work easier when contests arise.

Join a Family Frames Photo Contests on VIEWBUG. Showcase your best family photos for a chance to win a $500 Amazon Gift Card. Learn more!

Maintaining Control Over Your Work

One of the standout benefits is that you retain complete control over where your photos are stored. Suppose you prefer keeping your files on local devices for privacy reasons. In that case, Mylio respects that choice while providing seamless platform access.

You don’t need to upload your entire library to a new cloud service or worry about internet connectivity when accessing high-resolution files.

Enhancing Your Mylio Experience

This partnership doesn’t just solve a problem—it enhances how you showcase your photos.

Effortless Sharing: Upload photos directly from Mylio Photos to your VIEWBUG contests and portfolio without the hassle of manual transfers.

Time Savings: Spend less time searching and more time editing, perfecting, and engaging with the VIEWBUG community.

Focus on Creativity: With technical obstacles minimized, you can concentrate on developing your skills and capturing that next great shot.

Getting Started Is Simple

Connecting to your VIEWBUG account is easy for those already using Mylio Photos. Find a photo you want to share, click the VIEWBUG icon in the export menu, and follow a few simple steps.

To celebrate the Mylio & VIEWBUG partnership, we are launching a series of photo contests on VIEWBUG. Join the first one for a chance to win a $500 Amazon Gift Card. Even if you don’t win, you can showcase your photos to one of the world’s most vibrant creative communities—already a victory.

Join a Family Frames Photo Contests on VIEWBUG. Showcase your best family photos for a chance to win a $500 Amazon Gift Card. Learn more!

October 3, 2024 0 comment

Education How-to Photography Stories

How to Scan Old Family Photos

by Alex Li July 18, 2024

5 minutes read

Digitizing old family photos can be a fulfilling but challenging task. This article offers practical tips to help you achieve the best results while preserving your precious memories.

Photo Scanning Preparation

Before you start scanning, organize your photos. Gather all your photos and get an extra empty box. Group similar photos together. If your family kept photos in original envelopes with notes like “Florida vacation 1982,” keep these together for context. A DIG YOUR PHOTOS! kit from Sunflower Photo Solutions will give you all the tools and guidelines to organize analog photos faster.

A DYI photo-scanning project may be time-consuming, but it is fun!

Negatives and old photos require careful handling. Even clean fingers can leave smudges and oils. Wash your hands thoroughly and consider using white gloves at photo supply stores. These gloves protect your photos and negatives from damage.

Setting Up for Scanning

Before scanning, you can sort your photos using their original packaging. Film companies often changed envelope designs, making identifying pictures from different decades easier. Group envelopes with similar designs together to ensure chronological order.

Be selective about what you scan. Scanning every photo can be overwhelming and unnecessary. Start with a few envelopes from the same period. If you have both prints and negatives, prioritize scanning the negatives for better quality. Use prints as references, especially if they have contextual notes on the back.

The Scanning Process

You have several options for scanning your photos. You can use apps like Photomyne or a scanner like the Epson FastFoto. Another option is to work with a full-service scanning company like ScanMyPhotos. If you choose ScanMyPhotos, enter the code “Mylio” at checkout for an additional discount.

Hundreds of Family History Centers managed by FamilySearch.org across the USA offer free photo scanning services. You can also hire a professional photo manager to guide you through the project from start to finish.

Each approach has its pros and cons. While it might be tempting to scan everything yourself, working with a professional photo organizer can help you avoid common mistakes. Even a few hours with a pro can save you days or months of work.

Many professional photo organizers will help you prepare photos for scanning and scan them for you.

If you plan on scanning photos yourself, choose the proper settings. The resolution of your scans, measured in dots per inch (DPI), affects clarity and detail. While 72 DPI is standard for digital displays, it’s inadequate for printing. Aim for at least 200 DPI for prints, with 300 DPI ideal. For enlargements or small prints, scan at 800-900 DPI. Negatives may require up to 3200 DPI for the best results.

Save your scans as TIFF files for archival purposes. TIFF files preserve more detail and color information than JPEGs. You can convert TIFF files to JPEGs later for sharing.

Not every photo needs to be scanned. Skip blurry or less memorable shots. Focus on significant events, family members, and interesting everyday scenes. Remember to scan the backs of photos or envelope covers if they contain essential information.

Post-Scanning Organization

After scanning, rename the files with meaningful names and dates. This makes them easily searchable. Use Mylio Photos to tag your photos with metadata, such as location, dates, face tags, and keywords. Metadata makes your media library easily searchable and more enjoyable.

Tag people, locations, events, and dates to make your photos more searchable. Use consistent naming conventions for easier searching. In the caption field, enter detailed descriptions, including any information from the backs of the photos.

There’s no “one size fits all” approach to naming your folders and albums. Think of something that seems logical and reasonable specifically to you. You can organize photos into folders by family name, event, or decade. For example, create a folder named “Family Johnson” with subfolders like “1940s,” “1950s,” and so on. This setup helps you locate photos and narrow down dates when unsure.

Technical Tips

Understanding DPI and PPI (pixels per inch) helps you achieve the best scan quality. Aim for at least 200 DPI for printing, with 300 DPI ideal. Higher DPI settings ensure better print quality and allow for enlargements without losing detail.

When scanning on your own, consider how you’ll use the images. While high DPI settings produce large files, they’re necessary for quality prints. Use the grayscale setting to reduce file size for black-and-white photos without losing quality.

Always back up your scanned photos on different storage devices or cloud services. This ensures your digital archives remain safe from accidental loss or damage. You can easily automate your backup process with Mylio Photos vaults.

By following these guidelines, you can digitize and preserve your family’s photographic history effectively. Enjoy the process of bringing old memories to life through digital preservation!

July 18, 2024 0 comment

Stories

What’s New in Mylio Photos v24.3

by Alex Li April 22, 2024

The big Mylio Photos update is almost here. And when we say BIG, we mean it. Enjoy better ways to collaborate with your family and team members, more straightforward navigation based on your objectives, quick export to VIEWBUG to get rewarded for your photography, better control of your storage, and a lot more. Watch the highlights from our reveal event below.

The all-new Mylio Photos version 24.3 will be released very soon 🔥

April 22, 2024 0 comment

The All-New Mylio Photos 24.1 (video)

by Alex Li January 9, 2024

We’re excited to announce a significant update to Mylio Photos, now available. This update adds several new benefits and features. Note: It is a good idea to update all devices at the same time.

All the new features – in one video. Watch now.

Add Meaningful Connections

You can now add meaningful information to People View inside Mylio Photos. This includes attaching important dates, relationships, and contact details. This new feature debuts in Mylio Photos v24.1 and will be receiving several additional updates over upcoming releases through this year.

The details are kept 100% private to your account and are not shared when posting photos except in specific situations like publishing to FamilySearch.org. The Mylio company will not view or use this data. Once added, this information can drive interactive options like photo sharing and new search tools. Some of these features are included with this release, with more to come.

Contact Cards

While the new Connections tools information is useful, retyping it into Mylio Photos may be a pain. Chances are you already have a lot of this information on your devices today.

Click Choose Contact to open the Address Book on your device. This feature currently works with iOS, Android, and macOS. Windows support is currently not available due to limitations imposed by Microsoft Outlook. You can link to an existing card in your address book to import relevant details to Mylio Photos. This is an import and not a sync. You can import multiple times as needed to add new data in the future.

Click Import Contact Card to import an industry-standard VCARD. This is typically stored as a .vcf file and can be exported from most address books and email programs, including Outlook and Gmail.

FamilySearch Contacts & Tree

You can log into a FamilySearch.org account and associate people with your family tree with one click. This will also add connections to other family members and start to populate the relationships automatically as you connect multiple family members. This connection makes sharing memories with FamilySearch.org easier and is essential to protecting your family heritage.

Your interactive family tree can only be viewed by family members. Pictures of those living are automatically private, and deceased individuals can be discovered by others doing family tree research. Your photos are preserved for future generations with full metadata for free. Create a free FamilySearch.org account and a living history for your relatives and future generations.

New QuickActions for easy pivots

One of the most useful ways to use Mylio Photos is to explore your photos, videos, and documents. Mylio Photos is designed to work the way a human brain does, meaning that one memory triggers another, and we find things based on how important details relate to each other. These buttons work great in conjunction when casually browsing or using Dynamic Search.

You’ll find two new QuickAction buttons, and one expanded QuickAction button when viewing a single image.

Show in Folder. With one click, pivot to the Folder that contains all the photos related to this one.

Show in LifeCalendar. Click to see all other photos captured on the same day. You can use the navigation bar to step backward to the month or year view.

PhotoExplorer. Click to see more details about a photo. Existing options include the ability to reveal the image on a map or to do a web search on the GPS coordinates. New options related to contacts are also described in the next section.

New PhotoExplorer Actions for Contacts

Once you connect contact information to people in your library, they can be interacted with from PhotoExplorer.

Only some of the actions are available, but we’ll be rolling out all these choices shortly. Please note that your device or platform may limit messaging options, and any data consumed is tied to your normal plan.

Person – Click their icon to see all photos of a person

Email – Click to send the photo to the person via email

Message – Click to send the photo to a person via text message

Call – Click to start a phone call (coming soon to iOS and Android)

Video Call – Click to start a video call (coming soon to iOS and Android)

New Shareable Link option

Do you need to share a group of photos quickly? The Shareable Link option is a mobile-friendly way to do this (it also works on desktops).

Select a group of photos or items in the browser or current window.
Click the Share button and choose Shareable Link
An abbreviated short wizard opens to let you configure the share
Use the default name (based on a date time stamp) or enter a custom name for the page
Confirm your want to share and have the right to do so
Click Continue and customize the Shared Album page where the files are hosted
Click Share to generate the link.

Frame.io integration improvements

We have expanded our support for the Frame.io platform from Adobe. Creative professionals use this tool to exchange files and comment on photos and videos. If you use frame.io, try the frame.io folder importer in the Add Media menu.

Dedicated Vault Setup Flow

You’ll find a new button to add a Protection Vault in the Devices panel. This is a more guided way and will help you determine the size of drive you need and how to set it up. Adding at least two vaults can protect your library against data corruption, device failure, theft, or loss. You’ll need a Mylio Photos+ subscription or trial to set up and use a vault.

Graphical Watermarks

You can now use pictures or logos as a watermark. This is a great way to brand your images, add a stylized signature, or add additional protection. If you need transparency, use a PNG file with embedded transparency. We suggest you add a folder to Mylio Photos to store any watermarks you want to use. Be sure to use the Tap to Sync button on the folder and Store Original Files locally to have the full quality watermark.

Other improvements

Thank you for the feedback in our community and forum. We also appreciate those of you who take the time to contact support. We’ve addressed the following areas of performance for a better experience.

Expanded Learn Panel with new features and a Live Chat.
Right Panel UI updates.
Improved consistency when renaming files. The renamed order can now match the order in which you have sorted items (such as chronological).
Improved transfer of geotagged data for Android. Some phones whose GPS data wasn’t transferred correctly when importing media are now supported.
Consistent Counting of Rejected Items. If using the Reject flags, you’ll see more consistent counts on folders when using filters or browsing.
Consistent Sort Order on Sharing. When publishing or sharing files, the current sort order is now respected.
Fixed an inconsistency with Date Range timestamps. You can now correctly set a time range for a photo.
The scroll position is now saved when switching views.
Items now remain selected if dragging from Mylio Clipboard into an album.
Restored the View Untagged button to Map view.
AutoTag for face tagging is now off by default based on user feedback. AutoTags do not save metadata to a file, so auto-tagged people do not show up when using QuickFilters or Dynamic Search.
Removed split-screen support for the Microsoft Duo platform with this release.
Improved speed of relinking folders using an external drive or NAS. This is designed to handle better if the mounting point of a disk has changed.
Addressed a scrolling issue for iOS devices.
Resolved an issue where some timestamps would revert when adjusting other metadata.
Fixed various issues with Event and Album covers not updating correctly.
Fixed a recurring crash when searching in QuickFilters.
Fixed a recurring crash when syncing with Mylio Drive.
Resolved a crash when copying files from certain search categories.
Fixed some issues related to PIN codes in Spaces.
And many other minor bug fixes.

What’s next?

We are working hard on several more improvements to Mylio Photos. We will soon ship several performance improvements and a small release with new features.

At Mylio, we truly appreciate you trusting us to be crucial to managing your memories. We work every day to make this application better for you. Thanks for trusting Mylio Photos with your precious photos and memories.

January 9, 2024 0 comment

Stories

A Friendly Reminder to Spend Time With Your Photos

by Elisa November 18, 2023

The holiday season is more than just a time of festive decorations and delicious meals; it’s a season of making memories that will be cherished for years. As we approach this joyous time of year, there’s no better way to celebrate than by capturing and preserving those special moments with your camera or smartphone. Let’s delve deeper into a couple of expert tips on how to make the most out of your holiday photos, all while harnessing the full potential of Mylio Photos+.

Make Room for New Memories: Delete Old Screenshots Before the Holidays

Old screenshots can easily accumulate, taking up valuable storage space. Mylio Photos+ streamlines this process, allowing you to organize and delete unnecessary files efficiently. By freeing up space, you’ll ensure ample room for capturing and storing the many memories the holiday season is sure to bring.

To do so in Mylio Photos+, go to QuickFilters-> By File-> By File Type-> click and pin screenshot.

Or pick Screenshot Cleanup in Mylio QuickCollections.

Pick and Frame Your Favorite Photos: Curate Your Holiday Home

Mylio Photos+ is not just a photo organizer; it’s your digital curator. Take advantage of its intuitive features to handpick your favorite holiday photos. Whether it’s the joyous expressions during gift exchanges from last year or the beautifully adorned holiday table, Mylio Photos simplifies the selection process, making it a joy to relive and share these moments. Once you’ve chosen your favorites, consider creating a gallery in your home, framing these images to transform your space into a personal holiday exhibit.

To get you started, one quick example is going to QuickFilters-> Visual Properties-> Color-> Red and that should be a good starting point for your past Christmas images.

Preserve Your Memories in Print: Making Them Last as Long as Possible

While digital memories are convenient, there’s an enduring charm to holding physical prints in your hands. To ensure your old prints stand the test of time, consider these comprehensive tips:

Note Details on the Reverse: Take a moment to document essential details on the back of each print, such as when and where the photograph was taken and the individuals featured.
Store in Photo Boxes: Organize prints in acid-free envelopes within labeled photo boxes for easy access and long-term protection.
Traditional Photo Albums: Place prints in plastic sleeves within labeled photo albums, creating a visually appealing and easily accessible archive of your memories.
Handle with Care: Minimize direct contact with prints to prevent damage from skin oils, and consider using cotton gloves when handling.
Protect from Light: Keep prints out of direct sunlight to prevent colors from fading over time.
Control Temperature and Humidity: Maintain a stable environment for your prints by avoiding extremes in temperature and humidity, safeguarding them against deterioration.

And, of course, make sure you have a digital version of your printed photos. We have a free photo-scanning course to help you get started. Click here to access the Mylio Photos Community and get the Course.

Happy Holidays!

November 18, 2023 0 comment

How-to Stories

The Emotional Toll of Misplaced Memories

by Elisa September 29, 2023

Imagine if your phone fell into a body of water right now. Your photos of your new puppy. Your kids’ birthdays. Everything from the first days of school to food snaps to holiday photos.

Would you lose your photos if you lost a critical device, like your phone, work laptop, or iPad? Backing up our endless camera rolls can feel like a chore: It must be automatic, or our photo libraries are quickly outdated. Then, if we lose a device, we lose photos we can never replace.

Our devices are full of warm moments that we don’t want to lose.

Accidents Happen

No matter how careful we are, device or data loss will happen. A corrupt drive or memory card. A lost or stolen laptop. An electrical storm zapped a hard drive. A phone dropped in a swimming pool. Without a plan to protect them, memories, photos, and videos will be lost.

The thought of losing my extensive photo collection gives me the chills. It freaks me out even when one of my backups fails, usually through drives dying of old age. I can’t relax until I know a new one is in place.

To protect your memories, you need a rigorous data protection plan: Automatic backups that keep your files in sync all the time. Changes that are backed up in real-time, so you always have the most up-to-date version of your collection.

Adding two Vaults provides even more protection against data loss. If your first Vault device has a problem—like the hard drive failing due to old age—your second Vault still has your library safely backed up.

Mylio Photos+ is the solution.

To get started, install Mylio Photos on every device that contains photos. Then, subscribe to Mylio Photos+ and designate one or more devices or drives as Vault Drives. A Vault device is a hard drive with enough storage space to fit all your media files. Mine is a 12TB hard drive attached to my desktop computer.

With at least one vault in place, Mylio Photos+ will automatically back up your photos and videos to any device you have designated as a Vault. Designate three devices as Vaults; you always have three automatic backups running.

Once your Vaults are in place, any new photos, videos, or documents added to any device will be automatically backed up to your Vaults. Find those old hard drives, SD or CF cards, and USB drives. Plug them into any of the devices on your Mylio Photo+ account, and they’ll be backed up to your Vaults and, if you like, synced to every other device on your account. The exact process applies when adding media from your scanner or social media accounts.

As you can see, Mylio Photos+ allows you to add all your devices to your library, making it possible to protect all your media – even if you drop your phone down. And with the new Mylio Drive (coming soon in Mylio Photos V24), you can access your precious memories on any device without interruption.

A story by Jemma Pollari.

September 29, 2023 0 comment

The Problem With Too Many Digital Files: How Digital Mess Affects Your Mind.

by Alex Li September 22, 2023

As Friday draws close and the clock hits 5 PM, I find myself swamped in a maze of files, racing to finish a significant client project. This project isn’t just about creating logos or layouts; it’s about capturing the essence of a local business in digital art. Yet, as I scramble, I realize the need to organize my digital life and clean up the mess that’s become a persistent issue in my professional and personal life.

Digital file organization is not a trendy thing.

Firstly, I need patterns, photos, and graphics for print materials. I also have a lot of logo files to sort out. In the middle of this digital chaos, I discovered a file from another client – a quote I forgot. I’ve missed vital icons and still can’t find the patterns I downloaded.

For people like me who work with different people on various projects, messy and numerous files are a given. Depending on my work, I use my laptop, desktop, tablet-laptop hybrid, Android phone, or Android tablet. I’m rocking a Dropbox, a OneDrive, a Google Drive, various external drives, memory cards, and other devices.

Every week is an onslaught of emails with attachments to version control. Photos are coming in off my phone and my DSLR camera. I’m juggling graphics and design elements. Documents abound, from my forever-in-progress house-build schematics to drafted social posts.

Feeling the strain of the digital chaos.

Managing endless files is stressful. Time’s running out, and I’m searching everywhere, multitasking quickly. This digital turmoil increases my anxiety, especially with the ticking clock. Whether digital or physical, clutter stops us in our tracks to decide, over and over, “Do I need to deal with that?”

A standard after-school afternoon goes like this in the home I share with my husband and two sons. I’ll get started on dinner now, I think to myself. I head for the freezer to pull out something to defrost. Oh, the school bags are still on the floor. I’ll empty the lunchboxes and get those rinsed.

I grab the bags and pop to the sink. Empty the leftovers and rinse the lunchboxes. Duck into the laundry to hang the bags up for tomorrow. Oh, the washer’s finished. I’ll just put the next load on quickly. Load the dirty clothes and chuck clean ones in the dryer. Hmm, the dryer lint thing is full. Empty it. Oh, the bin’s packed.

On and on it goes.

Digital files are the same. When working on a task, it’s easy to get pulled aside by other things we see. As you try to find a photo to print for Christmas, you get sidetracked wading through the clutter: The 20 photos you take to get a good one of your kids smiling. Are you trying to find the phone bill so you can pay it? Do you end up in a folder of pricing quotes for that house you’re working on, trying to remember whether you’ve emailed the builder?

Nowadays, many of us struggle to organize our digital lives. Handling multiple projects, switching between devices, and using various cloud storage options has become the norm. We receive emails with attachments daily, and our phones and cameras add to our vast photo collections. Sharing files has become a real challenge. The emotional toll is equally taxing.

The impact of too much digital content.

It’s Monday morning. I need to finish a client’s website, respond to three quotes from plumbers for our building project, and, ideally, bang out a few pages of my novel. Into my inbox, I go, ready to find those quotes and make a decision. Seventy-three emails later, I’m wondering what happened to the last hour and still searching for the third quote. I don’t have time to do this now – I’ll do it tomorrow. (And that is why my house still isn’t built.)

Messy files cause procrastination. You know that getting everything sorted will be time-consuming. It feels overwhelming even to consider approaching such a task. As a result, we avoid essential tasks, which exacerbates the problem. Clutter blocks the mental space we need to be creative, brainstorm, and problem-solve. When challenged, it’s hard to find space to make something new.

It’s time to clean up the digital mess.

Messy files lead to delays and a loss of focus. Thinking about cleaning up feels daunting. Digital file organization sounds more complicated than building a rocket to fly to Mars.

We usually delay essential tasks, making things worse. Clutter isn’t just physical; it’s in our minds, too. When our thoughts get jumbled, creativity takes a hit. Picture my work evening: I start photo editing, but suddenly, unrelated family photos pop up. Such distractions disrupt my flow and heighten the sense of being overwhelmed.

I primarily spend my working day building websites for creative people. I also write. Plus, I mix in photography and design work. I started my professional career as a teacher of physics and math. I’m now a mom, too. Across all of that, I have authored a book (and written most of another).

The way that my professional and personal life has evolved over the years shows up in my files. In an ideal world, I’d reorient my files to how I work. But I’m generally not able to finish one job before starting the next. My work is self-driven and evolving, one opportunity leading to the next.

Mental clutter is no less stressful than physical clutter.

With digital files coming at us from everything we’ve got going on, our laptops, phones, tablets, and hard drives reflect what’s inside our minds. Mental clutter is no less stressful than physical clutter, affecting more than our brains. Living with clutter causes the stress hormone cortisol to be released, especially for women (bad news for me).

The anxiety is partly due to uncertainty about the effort needed to eliminate clutter. We feel guilty and embarrassed: “I should be able to manage this” and “I should have all this organized.” The anxiety only compounds when it gets so bad that we miss deadlines or flake out on our commitments.

As the clutter grows and deadlines approach, stress builds. So, how do we clean up our digital mess and find peace?

Embracing Mylio Photos for a cleaner digital life.

Mylio Photos can help organize your digital life. To successfully solve a clutter problem, start with quick, manageable chunks. Taking one part of the problem and working to fix it gives you a sense of accomplishment: I can do this.

Mylio Photos is a big help for organizing your scattered photos, videos, and documents. It’s free to download for all major platforms, and the app lets you bring unlimited media from your device, hard drives, cameras, and scanners. Its powerful Photo DeClutter tool is a fun way to start your journey to clean up messy files.

Photo DeClutter finds similar photos in your collection and brings them together for you to review and remove the ones you don’t need. Those burst shots of your kids to get one of them smiling all together? Photo DeClutter finds them and cuts through the mental noise of deciding which one to keep.

I use Mylio Photos+, the optional premium plan with many great features, including the best duplicate-removing tool I’ve ever used. This tool searches everything on all your devices and tells you when you have duplicates. For instance, email attachments you’ve downloaded a dozen times and photos copied from your camera and then again by accident.

My advice: start with one folder, then one hard drive. Add one device and then add more to complete your universal library. You remove the overwhelm and the ensuing procrastination by chunking the task into pieces.

Hassle-free digital life organization.

Starting with digital file organization might seem tough, but Mylio Photos offers handy tools. Features like Map, People, and LifeCalendar make it user-friendly. Cleaning up years of messy files might feel like an endless task. In reality, you can bring automatic order to your files relatively quickly. Mylio Photos shines in battling digital clutter because of its automated tools and robust manual organization capacity when needed.

Mylio Photos automatically organizes your files – regardless of where they are on disk – into logical, human-centered views. It helps you find your files in the same way that our minds remember.

From “I need that photo from winter three years ago” to “Where did I save the photos from our Hawaii trip?” the built-in views in Mylio Photos get you to where you need to go. Map, People, and LifeCalendar bring a new way to browse your files: Working with how we think about images helps us get to what we need faster.

Get your digital life organized and protected with Mylio Photos

Safeguarding your files.

Often, we keep unneeded files “just in case,” making our digital spaces messier. But with Mylio Photos+, the Vault devices ensure your files’ safety, letting you tidy up without worries. Trusting Mylio Photos+ with backups ensures your essential files remain protected.

Protecting our important files is part of dealing with a messy file system. I have a bank of historical family photos dating back over one hundred years. I must store multiple copies of these precious photos to protect against drive failure and data loss.

Storing multiple similar files makes cleaning up duplicates nerve-wracking. It’s time-consuming and unreliable to manually check that I have these photos stored elsewhere as a backup before I delete anything. Mylio Photos+ solves this with Vault devices connected to your Library and Photo DeDupe.

What is a Vault?

A Vault device is simply a computer, external hard drive or SSD (solid-state drive), NAS (network attached storage), or cloud service like OneDrive, Google Photos, or an S3-compatible private cloud that has been added to your Mylio Library and has enough room to store all your media. I use a 12 TB external drive as my Vault drive. It holds a backup of my entire media collection.

With a Vault in place, I can run DeDupe in Mylio Photos+ and be confident that the duplicates the tool finds are indeed unnecessary copies. I already have a backup copy in my Vault, so I can safely delete duplicates scattered across my computer and other devices. Moreover, Photo DeDupe can merge metadata from duplicate copies, so any work I have done with one file will be copied and safely recorded.

Having a Mylio Photos+ plan and backup system alleviates the stress of being unsure if a duplicate copy is safe to delete. We know the duplicate can go because the original, and all the work we’ve done to it, is protected.

Organize your digital life with Mylio Photos

Staying ahead of the digital clutter.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Each of those bites takes you one step closer to cleaning up messy files, a calm workspace, and the clarity to approach each task with focus.

You can also set time aside to tidy up at the end of your work day. Have you downloaded another two or three copies of that critical photo from your email? Run Photo DeDupe to clean up. Have you put that stock pattern where it belongs? Drop it into your Mylio Inbox so it’s ready to go for next time.

Regularly taking steps to sort out clutter and prevent it from building up will cause lasting change. This is why I’ve embarked on a journey to transform and organize my digital life. Are you on board?

Story by Jemma Pollari. For more, visit https://jemmapollari.com.

September 22, 2023 0 comment