Piktures, a free Android gallery app, shows the photos and videos stored on your NAS, or on a computer that shares its folders, as albums next to the ones on your phone. The drive must share its folders with SMB, also called Samba, and the phone must be on the same Wi-Fi network; nothing is uploaded anywhere, and there is no account to create.
Can an Android gallery app show the photos on my NAS?
Yes. Piktures opens your photos where they are, and a network drive on your local Wi-Fi network is one of the places it reads: a NAS, or a computer that shares its folders. Each shared folder you add appears in the Storage tab, under HOME, with the folder's name. Tap it to see its folders as albums in the Albums tab, the same way the phone's folders do.
Two conditions, both from the way SMB works: the drive shares its folders with the SMB protocol, and the phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the drive. Without Wi-Fi, you can neither add nor open a network drive.
How do I add my NAS or computer to Piktures?
- In the Storage tab, scroll down to ADD A NEW ACCESS, tap Network drive, then GET STARTED.
- Scanning network lists the devices of your network that share folders with SMB. Tap yours. If it isn't listed, tap Do it manually and type its address in Host.
- Type the Login and Password of the drive, and tap Sign in. To connect without an account, leave both fields empty. For a guest account, type
Guestas the login. If you picked your drive in the list and Sign in stays greyed out, press the keyboard's send key. - In Please select a share drive, tap the shared folder to open.
Each shared folder is a separate access. Your first access is free, whether it's a network drive or a cloud; the next ones need Premium or Prime. If the phone isn't on Wi-Fi, Piktures shows You do not seem to be on the same network and can't scan; a wrong login or password gives Login failed. A short video shows the steps in the app, under More → How to → Network Drive (SMB). The details are in Network drive (SMB).
What can I do with the photos on my NAS in Piktures?
- Browse and view. Each folder is an album, shown as a Grid or a List, with every sort order except Date. The Mosaic display isn't offered on a network drive, and the search only filters the open folder by type of file.
- Play videos straight from the drive.
- Copy photos to the phone. Select them, tap the move icon, and tap an album of the phone. Photos from a network drive are always copied, never moved: the originals stay on the drive.
- Send photos from the phone to the drive. Select them, tap the move icon or ⋮ → Move or Copy, choose the drive and a folder, then tap Move here or Copy here. See Copy and move between drives.
- Back up your phone albums to the drive, automatically, with Premium or Prime. Piktures creates a
Pikturesfolder at the destination, sends each album once in full and then only the new photos, and never deletes anything there. Away from home, the backup waits for the next time you're on your Wi-Fi network. See Back up and restore your photos.
Deleting a photo on the network drive deletes it for good: there's no trash there.
Piktures and your NAS: the facts
| App | Piktures, by Diune, for Android 11 or later |
| Price | Free, with a few Google ads. The one-time No ads purchase removes them |
| Account | The drive's own login, a guest account, or none. No Piktures account, no Piktures server |
| Protocol | SMB (Samba), the folder sharing of NAS units and computers |
| Network | Your local Wi-Fi network: the phone and the drive on the same one |
| Away from home | The drive can't be opened: Server not found… |
| Where your photos show | In the Storage tab under HOME, one tile per shared folder, then as albums in the Albums tab |
| What stays where | Photos stay on the drive until you copy them to the phone. Phone photos go to the drive only when you copy, move or back them up |
| Displays | Grid and List; no Mosaic |
| Sort orders | Every order except Date |
| Videos | Played straight from the drive |
| Drive to phone | Copy, never move |
| Phone to drive | Copy, move, and automatic backup (backup with Premium or Prime) |
| Trash | None on the drive: a deletion is final |
| Accesses | Each shared folder is one. The first is free, the next ones need Premium or Prime |
| The other way in | A NAS that offers WebDAV over HTTPS can be added with the Webdav tile instead: see Nextcloud and WebDAV |
Questions
Does it work away from home?
Not over SMB: away from your Wi-Fi network, Piktures shows Server not found…, and automatic backup waits until you're back. If your NAS offers WebDAV over HTTPS, add it with the Webdav tile, which connects to an address rather than to the local network: see A gallery app for Nextcloud and WebDAV photos on Android.
Does my NAS need anything installed?
Only SMB folder sharing, also called Samba, which is how a NAS or a computer shares its folders on the network. The Piktures Media Server app, which older versions connected to, has been retired: the Network drive tile replaces it. See No longer supported.
Can I connect without a password?
Yes. Leave Login and Password empty to connect without an account, or type Guest as the login for a guest account.
Is Piktures free?
Yes. The free Basic plan shows a few ads and allows one remote access, so one shared folder. Your first 3 days are without ads. The one-time No ads purchase removes the ads; Premium, a one-time purchase, and Prime, a monthly subscription, also unlock more accesses and automatic backup. See In-app purchases.
Does Piktures upload my photos anywhere?
No. Your photos leave the phone only when you share them, or when you copy, move or back them up to a cloud or a drive you connected. No Piktures server receives them. See Our product principles.