All of my programs need to read and write files. If you do not want to store your photos on your hard drive, we recommend putting them on Google Docs (NOT Google Photos), iCloud, or One Drive. Label the folders with the place the photos were taken to help the AI.

For all of these storage locations, you want to mount them as local folders:

The desktop programs read and write directly to the local folders synced by these cloud services on your computer.

  • iCloud Drive:
    • On Mac: Integrated by default. You can select your iCloud Drive folders directly inside the apps from the Finder window.
    • On Windows: Install iCloud for Windows to sync your folders to File Explorer.
  • Google Drive & OneDrive:
    • Install the free desktop sync applications (Google Drive for Desktop or Microsoft OneDrive). They create normal folders on your computer.
    • Select these folders inside FindPlace or AI Home Inventory.
  • The Sync Benefit: When FindPlace edits a photo's geotags, it saves the changes directly to the file. Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive will instantly sync that updated file back to the cloud in the background automatically.

2. On iPad (Mobile Edition)

The iPad app integrates with these cloud services through the native iOS Files app.

  • iCloud Drive: Always available by default.
  • Google Drive & OneDrive:
    1. Make sure you have the official Google Drive or OneDrive app installed on your iPad.
    2. In the iOS Files app, enable them in the sidebar (tap the three dots icon in Files, select Edit Sidebar, and toggle them on).
  • Inside the App: In AI Home Inventory, tap "Choose Files". The Files picker will open, and you can browse your folders inside Google Drive, OneDrive, or iCloud, selecting your photos directly from there.

You can use Amazon Photos with both apps:

1. On Desktop (Mac & Windows) — Works great

Amazon provides a free desktop app that can sync folders to the cloud:

  1. Download and install the Amazon Photos Desktop App on your computer.
  2. Set up a local folder on your computer to sync with Amazon Photos.
  3. Select that folder inside FindPlace or the inventory app.
  4. When FindPlace updates a geotag, the Amazon Photos desktop app will sync the corrected photo back to your Amazon cloud account.

2. On iPad (Mobile Edition) — Requires one extra step

Because Amazon Photos is strictly a photo gallery app (and not a general file drive), it does not integrate with the iPad's Files app sidebar. You cannot browse it directly when you tap "Choose Files."

How to make it work on iPad:

  1. Open the Amazon Photos app on your iPad.
  2. Select the photos you want to use for the room inventory.
  3. Tap Share and select "Save to Device" to download them to your iPad's Camera Roll.
  4. In the AI Home Inventory app, tap "Choose Photos" and select them from your Camera Roll.

Google Photos will not work directly with FindPlace or AI Home Inventory:

1. The Apps Need to "Write" to Real Files

  • FindPlace works by opening your actual photo files and writing the corrected GPS coordinates directly into the photo's hidden metadata header (called EXIF data).
  • AI Home Inventory works by looking at a folder of photos and saving a spreadsheet and inventory files inside that same folder.
  • The Google Photos Problem: Google Photos does not store your photos as files on your computer. It stores them as database entries on Google’s cloud servers. Since they aren't real files on your hard drive, the apps have nothing to open or edit.

2. Google's API is a "Closed Wall"

  • Google does not allow outside software to modify your photos in the cloud. Even if the apps connected to Google Photos over the internet, Google's security rules prevent any outside program from editing, renaming, or saving metadata back to your original photos.

3. Google Intentionally Blocked Google Drive Sync

  • In the past, you could set Google Photos to sync automatically to Google Drive, which did create a folder on your computer.
  • Google intentionally disconnected this sync in 2019. They did this to keep the two services separate and to encourage users to pay for Google One storage space twice.

 

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