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Your phone takes better photos than most cameras did a decade ago. Those files are still one dropped device away from gone. Cloud galleries are convenient. They are not a 3-2-1 backup.

This update is the local legs of 3-2-1: one working copy, one local copy you control, one off-site copy. The Amazon links below are the local kit. No Google Photos or iCloud buy box.

The 3-2-1 rule for a home photo library

3 copies of the files that matter, on 2 different kinds of media, with 1 copy off-site. A phone plus a single cloud account is one copy in one place.

Portable local copy: Samsung T7 Shield

Samsung T7 Shield (2TB) is the travel and desk copy: pocketable, USB-C, tough enough for a camera bag. Plug it in, mirror the library, unplug it.

Home NAS: Synology DS923+

Synology DS923+ is the always-on home library: four bays, RAID so one disk can die without taking the archive with it, access from the machines in the house. Check the current Amazon listing for price. This post does not invent a buy-box number.

Budget NAS: Asustor Drivestor 4 Gen2

Asustor Drivestor 4 Gen2 AS1204T is the cheaper four-bay box if you do not need Synology’s photo apps. Same idea: disks you own, on a network you own.

What this is not

This is not a Google Photos vs iCloud roundup. Those services can be the off-site leg later. They are not the products this post sells. Do not skip the local copy because a phone is already uploading somewhere.