Local Photo RestoreIs it safe to upload family photos to AI restoration apps?
Written by David Balderston, the developer of Local Photo Restore, an on-device restoration app that appears in this guide. The policy quotes below are from each company’s own privacy policy. Checked November 8, 2026. Policies change; read the current version before you upload anything important.
For most family photos it’s a reasonable trade, but it is a real upload: cloud restoration apps copy your photo to their servers, and their privacy policies differ a lot on how long they keep it. Remini says enhancement uploads are deleted after one day and FixMyPics says hourly, while Photomyne keeps scans backed up on its servers and MyHeritage gives no fixed period for its photo tools. If you’d rather not upload at all, Local Photo Restore restores faded, yellowed, and soft photos on your iPhone or iPad for $3.99 once, with no account.
What actually happens when you tap “Enhance”
Most AI restoration apps send the photo to a server, run a large model there, and send the result back. That is how they can rebuild faces, fill tears, and colorize: those apps run their larger models on servers. The questions that matter are what the company keeps, for how long, and what it is allowed to do with it.
What the policies say
| App | Where photos are processed | How long uploads are kept | Training on your photos | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remini | Images you upload are processed on its servers. | Uploaded and enhanced images deleted after one (1) day. Photos used for AI image generation kept up to 20 days (subscribers) or 7 days (non-subscribers) after your last use. Its separate web app policy gives different figures in different sections (1 day in its retention section, 15 days elsewhere, and 14 days for users who aren’t signed in). | Not used to train its AI “unless you explicitly opt in.” | Bending Spoons privacy policy |
| MyHeritage | Photo features “process information obtained from photos you upload.” | No specific period for photo-tool uploads; the policy says personal information is kept “for as long as it is required to deliver our services,” and you can delete your account and data at any time. | The policy says its photo features don’t retain biometric information. It says AI Time Machine uploads aren’t used for training; it doesn’t say the same for every photo tool. | MyHeritage privacy policy |
| Photomyne | Scans are “backed up on our servers on Amazon Web Services”; optional AI tools “use external AI technology” (listing). | Deleted scans are removed from backups “in a few months.” Biometric data is “retained for up to 30 days.” | “Photomyne and/or our service providers use generative AI and models that are trained on content (which may include images or voice recordings) that you provide.” | Photomyne privacy policy |
| Renew | Photos “may be transmitted securely to our servers or infrastructure providers.” | Deleted after processing “in accordance with our operational retention practices” (no period given). | Not addressed in the passages I read. | Renew privacy policy |
| FixMyPics | Online; “cannot work offline (i.e. Airplane mode).” Photos are compressed before upload. | Removed from servers “periodically every hour”; you can delete uploads in the app’s Settings. | Not addressed in the passages I read. | FixMyPics privacy policy |
| RetroFix | “Photo processing is done online.” | Removed from servers after processing; you can delete uploads in the app’s History. | Not addressed in the passages I read. | RetroFix privacy policy |
| Yore | Images “submitted for processing are transmitted securely.” | “Uploaded images are removed from our servers after processing.” | Not addressed in the passages I read. | Yore privacy policy |
Quoted or summarized from each linked policy, Checked November 8, 2026. “Not addressed in the passages I read” means I didn’t find a statement about training on photos; it is not a claim either way. The listings for Renew, FixMyPics, RetroFix, and Yore also show “Contains Advertising,” and their privacy labels list data used to track you.
So is it safe?
Nothing in these policies suggests your grandmother’s wedding photo will be published. The realistic risks are quieter:
- A copy exists somewhere else for an hour, a day, or with no fixed limit, depending on the app. Backups can outlive deletion; Photomyne says removal from its backups takes “a few months.”
- Faces are processed. Remini, Renew, FixMyPics, and Yore all describe face detection or face data in their policies, with limits on how it is used. RetroFix says that for its “Combine” feature, “The user’s photo is securely uploaded to our server, where facial key points are detected.” Some people are fine with that for a 1950s portrait and not for a recent photo of their children.
- Other people are in the picture. Living relatives didn’t agree to the upload. MyHeritage’s policy requires their prior consent, and a parent’s or guardian’s for minors.
- Accounts and subscriptions. Some services need an account, which ties your photos to your email address. Most of these apps are weekly or yearly subscriptions, so check what happens to your uploads when you cancel.
A five-minute check before you upload
- Open the app’s listing and scroll to App Privacy. “Photos or Videos” or “User Content” under Data Linked to You means the company says it collects that content tied to your identity.
- Open the privacy policy from the listing and search it for upload, retain, delete, and train.
- Look for an in-app delete option (FixMyPics has one in Settings, RetroFix in History; Renew, where available, and Yore let you clear history in the app).
- Start with a photo you wouldn’t mind being stored, and keep your untouched scan either way.
- Leave out photos of living children or anything with addresses, documents, or ID numbers in view.
How to restore an old photo without uploading it
- Local Photo Restore ($3.99 once, iOS/iPadOS 18.2+). Its listing says “Photo processing happens on your device. There is no account to create and no photo upload.” It enlarges up to 4x (capped near 17 MP) and reduces yellow tint and faded contrast, saving a new copy. It doesn’t repair scratches or tears, colorize, or rebuild faces. To be complete: it uses RevenueCat for purchase reporting and onboarding analytics, which never receives photos (privacy policy).
- Apple Photos (free). The Adjust sliders handle light and color. Apple notes that some Apple Intelligence editing tools rely on server-side models, so don’t assume every new Photos tool stays on the phone.
- A desktop editor or a local restorer for damage the phone apps can’t fix.
If the photo is torn or scratched and you decide the cloud is worth it, the comparison page lists which apps repair damage and what they cost. For family-tree work, see restoring photos for genealogy.
Questions
Does Remini keep my photos?
Bending Spoons’ Remini privacy policy, checked November 8, 2026, says images uploaded for enhancement and the enhanced results are deleted after one day. Photos uploaded for AI image generation are kept up to 20 days for subscribers or 7 days for non-subscribers after the last use, and photos are not used to train its AI unless you opt in.
Do MyHeritage photo tools upload my photos?
Yes. MyHeritage’s privacy policy says its photo features, including Photo Enhancer and In Color, process information obtained from photos you upload. The policy gives no specific retention period for those uploads; it says personal information is kept as long as needed to deliver its services, and you can delete your account and data at any time.
Can I restore old photos on iPhone without uploading them?
Yes. Local Photo Restore (Restore Old Photos: AI Enhance) processes photos on your iPhone or iPad with no account and no photo upload, for $3.99 once. It improves faded, yellowed, and soft photos; it does not repair scratches or colorize.
Local Photo Restore (App Store name: Restore Old Photos: AI Enhance) costs $3.99 once in the U.S. App Store, with no subscription or in-app purchases. iPhone and iPad, iOS or iPadOS 18.2 or later. Price and version checked November 8, 2026.