dPhoto works fine if you’re a NTT docomo sp-mode subscriber and 5 GB of storage covers everything you shoot. The problem is that phones fill 5 GB quickly, the Cloud Storage Option add-on tops out at 55 GB for 440 yen a month, and if you switch carriers to ahamo, irumo, or docomo mini without also subscribing to a paid dPhoto tier before the switch, every photo you’d stored gets deleted. That’s a hard stop for anyone considering a plan change.
We looked at dPhoto alternatives that give you more free space, work regardless of which carrier you use, and, in some cases, encrypt your library so even the storage provider can’t see it. Here are seven cloud photo apps worth switching to.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Photos | Android default | 15 GB | 250 yen | Best search and face grouping |
| Amazon Photos | Prime subscribers | Unlimited photos | Included with Prime | Full-resolution photo storage |
| OneDrive | Microsoft 365 users | 5 GB | 260 yen | 1 TB with Microsoft 365 |
| MEGA | Free-tier size | 20 GB | 590 yen | End-to-end encrypted |
| Dropbox | Cross-device workflow | 2 GB | 1,500 yen | Best sync reliability |
| pCloud | One-time purchase | 10 GB | 500 yen | Lifetime plans available |
| Proton Drive | Privacy-first | 5 GB | 500 yen | Swiss encryption, no tracking |
Why people leave dPhoto
The docomo dependency is what pushes most users to look elsewhere. Threads on 5channel and X repeatedly hit the same complaint: switching to ahamo, irumo, or docomo mini can wipe your entire library unless you remember to attach a paid dPhoto add-on to the account first. That’s a lot of trust to place in a support flow, and photos of your kids don’t come back after a bad handoff.
The second issue is capacity. 5 GB free is what OneDrive gives you, and less than Google Photos or MEGA. The paid tier caps at 55 GB for 440 yen a month, which works out to about 8 yen per GB. That’s competitive on the top-out tier but expensive if you actually need a terabyte, since dPhoto simply doesn’t offer one.
The third is cross-device reach. dPhoto is built around the docomo account, so accessing your library from a Windows PC or non-docomo iPhone is possible but clunky. Anyone with a mixed setup, work laptop, personal MacBook, family iPad, spends more time authenticating than viewing photos.
The alternatives
Google Photos, best for Android default
Google Photos is what most Android users already have installed, which alone makes it the highest-friction-reducing swap. The 15 GB Google account allowance covers photos, Gmail, and Drive combined, and the search and face-grouping features are still ahead of every competitor, you can type “beach 2023” and get exactly that.
Where it falls short: The free tier stopped including unlimited high-quality photo storage in 2021, so 15 GB fills up faster than it used to. Face grouping in Japan requires enabling the feature in a compatible region.
Pricing:
- Free: 15 GB shared across Photos, Gmail, Drive
- Paid: Google One from 250 yen/month for 100 GB
- vs dPhoto: Cheaper per gigabyte and no carrier lock-in
Migrating from dPhoto: Download your library from dPhoto’s WEB Album at pc.dphoto.docomo.ne.jp to your PC first, then upload to Google Photos. No direct connector, but the web download makes it a one-step-per-batch process.
Bottom line: Pick Google Photos if you want the smoothest default with the best search.
Amazon Photos, best for Prime subscribers
Amazon Photos is the biggest value if you already pay for Amazon Prime. Prime members in Japan get unlimited full-resolution photo storage, plus 5 GB for videos. That’s not “high quality” compression, it’s the original file at whatever resolution your phone shot. For anyone who takes a lot of family or travel photos, that alone is the reason to switch.
Where it falls short: Video allowance stays capped at 5 GB even for Prime members, so the videos side isn’t unlimited. Album management is less refined than Google Photos, and search is not as clever.
Pricing:
- Free: 5 GB for non-Prime users
- Paid: Included with Amazon Prime (5,900 yen/year in Japan, or 600 yen/month)
- vs dPhoto: Cheaper per year and unlimited photos rather than capped at 55 GB
Migrating from dPhoto: Same as Google Photos, download from pc.dphoto.docomo.ne.jp to a PC, then upload to Amazon Photos through the web uploader or desktop client.
Bottom line: Pick Amazon Photos if you already pay for Prime, it’s effectively free unlimited photo storage.
Microsoft OneDrive, best for Microsoft 365 users
OneDrive is the pick if you already subscribe to Microsoft 365 for Word and Excel, since that plan includes a full 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user. For photos specifically, the auto-backup runs quietly in the background, and the desktop client for Windows makes it feel like a local drive.
Where it falls short: Free tier is just 5 GB, same as dPhoto. The photo-viewing experience is less polished than Google Photos or Amazon Photos, more general file manager than album app.
Pricing:
- Free: 5 GB
- Paid: OneDrive Basic 260 yen/month for 100 GB, or Microsoft 365 Personal at 1,490 yen/month for 1 TB plus the Office apps
- vs dPhoto: Way more storage at the top tier, and the Office bundle bumps the value if you’d buy Office anyway
Migrating from dPhoto: Download from dPhoto web album, then drag into the OneDrive desktop folder. On phone, the OneDrive app can also import from your local gallery once dPhoto photos are saved back.
Bottom line: Pick OneDrive if you already pay for Microsoft 365, the 1 TB comes bundled.
MEGA, best for free-tier size
MEGA offers 20 GB free, which is four times what dPhoto gives you and beats Google Photos too. Everything is end-to-end encrypted, which means MEGA cannot see your photos and can’t hand them to anyone else. The apps on Android and iOS both include a photo backup mode with folder-level scheduling.
Where it falls short: End-to-end encryption breaks classic cloud features, no server-side face detection, no smart search, and no rich thumbnails until the app decrypts locally. Free-tier bandwidth is metered, which slows first-time downloads of large libraries.
Pricing:
- Free: 20 GB
- Paid: MEGA Pro Lite at 590 yen/month for 400 GB
- vs dPhoto: Larger free tier, cheaper per GB, and encrypted
Migrating from dPhoto: Download from dPhoto web album, upload to MEGA through the desktop app or MEGAsync. The encryption happens client-side during upload, so you don’t need a separate encryption step.
Bottom line: Pick MEGA if free storage size matters most, and you don’t need smart search.
Dropbox, best for cross-device workflow
Dropbox is still the reference for cloud sync reliability. The desktop client behaves as if the cloud folder is local, changes propagate almost instantly across Mac, Windows, and Linux, and the mobile app has had photo backup since before most competitors. If your photos live alongside work files that need the same treatment, one account handles both.
Where it falls short: The 2 GB free tier is the smallest here, and paid plans are expensive, Dropbox Plus starts at 1,500 yen/month for 2 TB. No native photo-specific features like face grouping.
Pricing:
- Free: 2 GB
- Paid: Dropbox Plus 1,500 yen/month for 2 TB
- vs dPhoto: Much larger paid tier, but pricier if you only need 55 GB
Migrating from dPhoto: Download to PC, drop into the Dropbox folder. Everything syncs to the cloud and to any other device on the account.
Bottom line: Pick Dropbox if you need photos, documents, and work files in one sync-first tool.
pCloud, best for one-time purchase
pCloud is the outlier that offers lifetime plans, a single payment for storage you keep forever. Pricing runs around 26,000 yen for 500 GB or 47,000 yen for 2 TB, one-off. Amortized over five years, that comes out cheaper than any monthly plan, and there’s no risk of losing access if you cancel a subscription.
Where it falls short: No end-to-end encryption on the standard plan, that’s a paid add-on called pCloud Crypto. The photo-viewing UI is less polished than Google or Amazon.
Pricing:
- Free: 10 GB
- Paid: 500 yen/month for 500 GB, or roughly 26,000 yen one-off for lifetime
- vs dPhoto: Lifetime option makes long-term cost predictable
Migrating from dPhoto: Download from web album, upload through pCloud’s desktop client or drive-mapping tool.
Bottom line: Pick pCloud if you’re happy to pay once and stop thinking about a monthly bill.
Proton Drive, best for privacy-first storage
Proton Drive comes from the team behind Proton Mail, and every file is end-to-end encrypted on Swiss servers under GDPR and Swiss privacy law. Photo backup is built into the app, and unlike MEGA the encryption model has been publicly audited multiple times. If you distrust any provider that could theoretically look at your photos, Proton is the choice.
Where it falls short: Free tier is 5 GB, same as dPhoto. Sync is slower than Google or Dropbox, since encryption happens client-side. No search inside encrypted content.
Pricing:
- Free: 5 GB
- Paid: Proton Drive Plus 500 yen/month for 200 GB, or 1,290 yen/month for 500 GB in the Proton Unlimited bundle
- vs dPhoto: Similar entry price, but you get end-to-end encryption and cross-carrier freedom
Migrating from dPhoto: Download from dPhoto web album, upload to Proton Drive through the desktop app or the web uploader.
Bottom line: Pick Proton Drive if you want photos stored where nobody except you can see them.
How to choose
Pick Google Photos if you’re on Android and want the best default. Face grouping, smart search, and 15 GB free will cover most casual users without any extra thought.
Pick Amazon Photos if you already pay for Amazon Prime in Japan. Unlimited full-resolution storage that comes bundled at 5,900 yen a year is unbeatable value.
Pick OneDrive if you’d buy Microsoft 365 anyway. The 1 TB that comes with Personal makes the photo storage effectively free.
Pick MEGA if you want the biggest free tier and can accept that encryption removes some smart features.
Pick Dropbox if you need one tool for photos, documents, and work files that all sync the same way across every device.
Pick pCloud if you want to pay once and never subscribe again. Lifetime plans are unique in this category.
Pick Proton Drive if privacy is the top priority and you want photos stored under Swiss law with end-to-end encryption.
Stay on dPhoto if you plan to remain on docomo sp-mode long-term, take fewer than 5 GB of photos, and don’t need access from non-docomo devices. The carrier-native workflow is genuinely convenient in that narrow case.
FAQ
Can I keep my dPhoto photos after switching from docomo to ahamo?
Only if you subscribe to a paid dPhoto add-on (either the Print Service tier at 594 yen/month or the Cloud Storage Option) before the plan switch. Without one of those, docomo deletes your stored photos when the switch completes. Download everything to a PC through pc.dphoto.docomo.ne.jp first, that way your library is safe regardless of what happens to the dPhoto account.
Is there a free dPhoto alternative with more storage?
Yes. MEGA gives you 20 GB free, four times what dPhoto includes. Google Photos gives 15 GB free (shared with Gmail and Drive). Both work on any carrier and any operating system, no docomo account needed.
What’s the cheapest cloud storage for photos in Japan?
Amazon Photos, if you already subscribe to Amazon Prime (5,900 yen/year), which includes unlimited full-resolution photo storage. Standalone, Google One at 250 yen/month for 100 GB is the cheapest paid tier that gives meaningful headroom. pCloud’s lifetime plans work out to under 10 yen/GB amortized over five years.
Which cloud storage app is most private for photos?
Proton Drive uses end-to-end encryption on servers in Switzerland, meaning even Proton cannot see your photos. MEGA also uses end-to-end encryption. Both are stronger privacy choices than Google Photos, Amazon Photos, or OneDrive, all of which can technically access your content.
Can I use dPhoto without a docomo contract?
No. dPhoto requires a docomo, ahamo, irumo, or docomo mini contract to access, and free tier is available only for specific plans. Every alternative in this article works without any carrier account, just a free account on the service directly.
