Comparison

fastbackward vs Photon Library

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

fastbackward

Relive past memories with your photos. This app resurfaces pictures taken on this day in previous years, helping you recall significant life events and see your personal growth. It also displays photos on a map using EXIF data and can show random memories if no photos exist for the date.

Highlights
  • Resurfaces photos from previous years
  • Displays photos on a map using EXIF data
  • Excludes screenshots from memories
  • On-device processing for privacy
  • Shows random memories if no photos for the date
Features
Read full description

Have you ever wondered what you were doing on this day last year? Or the year before? What about the year before that? With fastbackward you'll not only know, but have your photos to remind you, too. Taking photos is great, but looking at those photos is where the real fun begins. Your iPhone takes stunning photos but it needs fastbackward to surface the most important photos at the right time. Your iPhone is full of photos but they're a jumbled mess in the Photos app. What makes fastbackward so valuable is the way it surfaces photos you took today, but in years past. You'll see your kids growing up as well as any big life events that happened on this day, too. Didn't take a photo on this day? Fastbackward can show you a random memory instead. As well as showing you your photos and jogging your memory, fastbackward will also use your photos' EXIF data to plot where you took them on a map. You'll never wonder where you took your favourite landscape photo ever again. Features include: - The ability to exclude screenshots from your memories.
- Privacy. Because your photos are hugely personal, fastbackward doesn't upload any of them to the internet. All of the processing is carried out on your device, right where it should be. - EXIF data used to display a map of where you took your photos.

About

Photon Library

Organize and enjoy your photos and videos with a sleek, intuitive media management app. It offers a streamlined approach to browsing, viewing, and organizing your collections with a clean interface and smart features.

Highlights
  • Clean, modern interface
  • Smart album organization
  • Calendar view
  • Favorites section
  • Smooth, responsive performance
Features
Read full description

Rediscover your memories with Photon Library, a sleek, intuitive photo and video manager for iPhone and iPad. Browse, search, organize, and clean up your library in a thoughtfully designed interface built around the moments that matter. BROWSE AND RELIVE - Enjoy a clean, modern layout that keeps your photos front and center - Open any photo with a smooth zoom transition from its thumbnail - Start a slideshow from an album or a custom selection of photos - Swipe up on a photo to see details, including where it was taken on a map - Browse by date with Calendar view - Revisit your favorites anytime FIND ANYTHING, FAST - Search by place. Type “Madrid” to quickly find photos taken there - Refine results by date range, media type, screenshots, or favorites - Search album names and combine filters to narrow down exactly what you want - Keep your location data private. Place searches run entirely on your device ORGANIZE WITH EASE - Pin your most important albums to keep them close at hand - Collapse and expand album groups to reduce clutter - Filter albums by name to jump straight to what you need - Select multiple photos quickly by dragging across the grid - Add photos to albums, share them, or mark favorites with a long press RECLAIM STORAGE - Find photos and videos you may no longer need using date range and media type filters - Protect what matters by excluding favorites and items already stored in albums - Preview everything before you delete it - Review your selection and deselect anything you want to keep Photon Library is a refreshing alternative to complicated photo-management apps. Declutter your library or enjoy your memories with less friction and more control. Simplify your photo library. Download Photon Library and rediscover your memories with ease. Requires iOS 26 or later.

Screenshots

fastbackward4 screens
Photon Library4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: fastbackward at 100% against Photon Library's 41%. fastbackward also leads on price (Free vs $6.99) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). Photon Library's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

fastbackward is free to download; Photon Library costs $6.99 up front. fastbackward sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Photon Library asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 7, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
fastbackward versus Photon Library: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterfastbackwardPhoton Library
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better41.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaximilian KraussLateNiteSoft S.L.

Customer experience

fastbackward

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Photon Library

Written reviews17 reviews
Positive41.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative52.9%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

fastbackward

One-time1
  • fastbackward Pro$1.99
None

Photon Library

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is fastbackward free?
fastbackward is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photon Library free?
Photon Library costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do fastbackward or Photon Library have ads?
Neither fastbackward nor Photon Library shows ads.
Which is updated more often, fastbackward or Photon Library?
fastbackward ships an update every 3 weeks, and Photon Library every 3 weeks. Most recently, fastbackward was updated on July 7, 2026 and Photon Library on September 16, 2026.

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