Gallery Mode
Getting Started
How do I use Ente without creating an account?
On the welcome screen, tap Continue without account. Grant photo library access when prompted. You can now browse your device photos, use face recognition, magic search, and other on-device features without signing up.
Why don't I see the "Continue without account" button?
The gallery mode option is controlled by a feature flag. If you don't see the button, make sure you're running the latest version of Ente Photos. If it still doesn't appear, the feature may not be available in your region yet.
What permissions does Ente need in gallery mode?
Ente needs access to your photo library to display your photos. On iOS, grant "Allow access to all photos" for the best experience. On Android, grant media/photo access. No network permissions are needed since gallery mode doesn't upload anything.
Features
Does face recognition work without an account?
Yes. Face recognition runs entirely on your device in gallery mode. Enable it from the banner on the Search tab or from Settings > Machine learning. All processing happens locally -- no data leaves your phone.
Does magic search work without an account?
Yes. Natural language search (magic search) also runs on-device. After enabling ML, Ente indexes your photos locally so you can search using descriptions like "beach sunset" or "birthday cake".
Can I use the map view in gallery mode?
Yes. If your photos contain location metadata, enable map view from Settings > Map. The map displays photo locations using the GPS data embedded in your photos.
Do memories work in gallery mode?
Yes. Memories appear at the top of the home gallery based on photos from past years on your device.
Can I favorite photos in gallery mode?
No. Favorites is an Ente cloud album and requires an account. In gallery mode, you can browse and view all your device photos but cannot organize them into Ente albums.
Can I share photos from gallery mode?
You can share individual photos to other apps using the standard share sheet (share button in the viewer). However, Ente's album sharing, collaborative albums, and public links require an account.
Signing Up
How do I create an account from gallery mode?
There are three places to sign up:
- Tap the Get started banner at the top of the home gallery
- Tap the Enable backup prompt in the Albums tab
- Open Settings and tap the sign-in card at the top
Will I lose my photos or ML data when I sign up?
No. All your device photos remain on your device, and any ML processing (face recognition, search embeddings) done in gallery mode is preserved. Signing up adds cloud features on top of your existing local experience.
Can I go back to gallery mode after signing up?
Once you sign in to an Ente account, the app operates in signed-in mode. To return to gallery mode, you would need to sign out.
Troubleshooting
My photos aren't showing up in gallery mode
- Check that Ente has photo library access in your device's system settings
- On iOS, confirm you granted Allow access to all photos (not "Selected photos")
- Wait for the initial scan to complete -- check the status bar at the top of the gallery
- Close and reopen Ente to trigger a fresh scan
ML indexing seems slow
On-device ML processing can take time, especially for large libraries. Keep the app open and charging for faster processing. The ML progress banner on the Search tab shows current progress.
The app uses a lot of battery
ML indexing is processor-intensive. Once initial indexing completes, battery usage returns to normal. To pause indexing, disable ML from Settings > Machine learning.