Products · Product
iPhoto
Raised as a usability problem by 27 people on Hacker News over 13 years (2009–2021), in 23 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Photos stored in a proprietary database that can't be browsed as filesUnreviewed
20092026- Hard to find where the iPhoto library folder is stored each time2021-08-31
- Extremely slow, and stores every photo in a proprietary database that can't be browsed as files2017-07-12
- Requires whole photo library in one folder on one disk, making split or external storage hard and error-prone2014-05-04
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 31 complaints
- Hard to find where the iPhoto library folder is stored each time2021-08-31
- Grandmother couldn't figure out how to do anything in the redesigned app2021-08-08
- Can only accept shared library invite through Apple Mail, not other email clients2020-01-29
- Extremely slow, and stores every photo in a proprietary database that can't be browsed as files2017-07-12
- Mac freezes up and grinds to a halt on HDD machines when memory is exhausted2017-01-03
- Videos clutter the photo library, making it feel disorganized2015-02-05
- Share button has replaced export, so user must navigate menus to find export2014-06-12
- Requires whole photo library in one folder on one disk, making split or external storage hard and error-prone2014-05-04
- Feels slow to use, which is the main reason it's disliked2013-12-28
- Opens a new library unexpectedly, so photos load into the wrong library unnoticed2013-06-18
- Becomes nearly unusable with a massive photo library unless stored on an SSD2013-06-18
- Clunky, terrible software that makes managing many phone photos hard2013-05-23
- Slows to a crawl after several thousand photos2013-05-23
- Hides photo files where the user can't find or manage them2013-05-08
- Browsing a shared collection on another machine sends full-resolution photos, making it unusable2013-03-11
- Can't quickly locate photo library files in Finder; path is hard to determine2013-03-06
- Photo library abstraction hides files, which the commenter finds frustrating to deal with2013-03-06
- IPhoto forces its own library abstraction over the user's files, which is frustrating to work with2013-03-05
- Images are stored in backups and a library that is hard to access and synchronise from other tools2013-03-05
- Photo library abstraction is inconsistent, UI is horrible and metadata hard to access2013-03-05
- Libraries on network drives get corrupted, and a misclick on the library pop-up can ruin them2013-02-08
- Deleting photos in iPhoto silently deletes them from Facebook too, with no undo2013-01-04
- Deleting photos by mistake makes the user lose their library2013-01-04
- Deleting photos on iPad doesn't sync back to the desktop library2012-09-11
- Users struggle to move photo and music libraries with their metadata to a new Mac2012-06-05
- Rotating a photo requires going into a menu despite a visible rotate button2011-09-06
- Rotate commands are hidden in different menus, so users must learn where each command lives2011-09-06
- Photos stored in iPhoto library are hidden behind a virtual filesystem, hard to reach files2011-08-30
- Can't browse to photos from the Attach a file dialog, must go through other apps2011-03-27
- Auto-copied photos go to a hidden folder, and users can't find or browse them later2011-03-26
- Can't resize a photo for emailing directly, must export it instead2009-05-05