Viallo Is Now on Android
Quick take: Viallo is now on Android. The app is on Google Play, it does everything the iPhone app does, and it uses the same account and the same albums. Everything that makes Viallo different is still here: albums are private by default, and the people you share with need no app and no account - they open a link in any browser. Both phone platforms are covered now, and the web app still works on everything else.
What the Android app adds
When Viallo shipped on iPhone, I wrote that an Android version was on the list and that I would post when it landed. This is that post. The app is live on Google Play.
Android has always worked in the browser - the web app at viallo.app runs properly in Chrome, camera upload included, and plenty of people will keep using it that way. What the app adds is the part a browser tab was never going to win: the camera in your pocket, and a home screen icon that opens your library instead of whatever tab you left open twelve hours ago.
A few specifics:
- Upload straight from the camera. Take a photo, put it in an album, carry on. Bulk upload from your gallery works the same as it always did, just faster.
- Share into Viallo from anywhere. Viallo shows up in Android's share sheet, so you can send photos to an album from your gallery or any other app without opening Viallo first.
- Your albums on your home screen. The app opens where you left off. Pull down to refresh, tap an album to view it full-screen, swipe to scrub through.
- Push notifications when someone joins an album. Optional, off by default. If you turn them on, you'll know when a friend opens the link you sent.
The people you share with still need nothing
Two apps now exist, so it is worth repeating the thing they do not change: nobody you share an album with needs to install anything. Not the app, not an account, not a sign-up form. They open the link in Chrome, Safari, whatever they have, and the album loads.
I built Viallo this way because that is the friction that kills photo sharing in real life. You come back from a trip with 400 photos for your family, and now you are asking your aunt to install something. She is not going to. The album never gets seen. Shipping an Android app does not make that a good idea - it just means the person making the album has one more decent way in. If you want the long version of that promise, it's here: how to share photos without making anyone download an app.
Multiple people, one album
This is the change that actually matters for most groups. Before, a mixed group meant the iPhone half had an app and the Android half had a browser tab. Now everyone capturing photos has the same thing on their phone, and they all add to the same album - the trip, the wedding, the weekend nobody wants to reconstruct from six camera rolls afterwards.
No one has to be the designated photo-collector. No more "can you send me yours later". Photos go in as they happen, at full resolution, and everyone with the link sees the full set.
Albums are still private by default. You choose who has the link, and you can revoke it any time from either app or the web.
Who this is for
The app is most useful if you are the person who ends up organizing the photos. A few cases I had in mind:
- Mixed-phone families. The half of the family on Android were the ones this gap hurt. One album, everyone contributing from the phone they own.
- Trips. One album per trip. Everyone you travelled with can add to it. Family back home gets the link and watches the trip unfold.
- Weddings. The couple makes an album, guests drop in what they took, no one is hunting Instagram tags afterwards.
- Events. Birthdays, parties, reunions. A single link that everyone can contribute to and view.
For the wedding case specifically, there's a longer guide here: how to share wedding photos with guests. The travel case is covered in how to share travel photos with family.
Both platforms, one account
The Android app, the iPhone app, and the web app all share one account and one library. Upload from your laptop, view on your phone, hand your partner the contributor link on whatever phone they own - nothing to migrate, nothing to set up twice.
If you are on a Mac, Windows, a tablet, or anything else, the web app is still the full Viallo and always will be. The apps are a faster way in on a phone, not a wall around the product.
How to get it
Open Viallo on Google Play, or open viallo.app on your phone and take the download link at the top. If you already have a Viallo account, sign in with the same email and password and your albums are there. If you don't, the free plan is enough to make a real album and send it - no credit card, no trial timer. You can see what the paid plans include on the pricing page.
That's it. Make an album, send a link, you're done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Android app the same as the iPhone app?
Yes. Same features, same account, same albums. Upload from the camera or your gallery, browse albums full-screen, create and revoke share links, turn on push notifications if you want them. Anything you make on one phone shows up on the other.
Do the people I share albums with need the app?
No. Anyone you send an album link to can open it in any browser - Android, iPhone, laptop, anything - without downloading the app and without making an account. That has always been the core of how Viallo works, and neither app changes it. The apps are for you, the person making the album.
Does the Android app cost anything?
The app is free to download and the free Viallo plan needs no credit card. If you need more space or more albums, paid plans are available - you can see what each one includes on the pricing page. Your plan is tied to your account, not the device, so it works the same on Android, on iPhone, and on the web.
Are my photos private?
Yes. Every album is private by default and only viewable by people you give the link to. Photos are stored at full resolution on GDPR-compliant servers in the EU, never used to train AI, and never scanned for advertising. You can revoke a share link any time from the app or the web.
I already use Viallo in Chrome. Do I have to switch to the app?
No. The web app at viallo.app is still the full Viallo on Android, camera upload included, and it is not going anywhere. The app is faster for capturing on the go and keeps your albums one tap from your home screen, but nothing you rely on moves behind it.
Can my friends and I add photos to the same album from our phones?
Yes, and it no longer matters which phone anyone has. If you turn on collaborative uploads for an album, anyone with the contributor link can add their photos from their device - Android app, iPhone app, or browser. It's the way most people use Viallo for trips and weddings: everyone drops in what they took, and the album ends up being the full picture instead of one person's view of it.