The one difference that matters
Every shared album, whatever the brand, works the same way: a photo is taken, uploaded and shown. The value is speed. Kept inverts that. A photo is taken and uploaded, and then it is not shown to anyone, not even the person who took it, until the roll develops at a time the host chose. The value is the wait, and the moment at the end when eighty photos from forty people appear together.
This is not a filter or a blur. Before the roll develops the Kept server leaves photo addresses out of every response it sends. There is nothing on any phone to peek at. How the delayed reveal works goes into the mechanics.
Side by side
| Feature | Kept | Shared album apps |
|---|---|---|
| Photos during the event | Hidden from everyoneNot delivered until the roll develops | Visible immediatelyThe feed is the point |
| What a guest needs | Their phoneScan a code, type a name, shoot | An account, often an appiCloud, Google or the album app itself |
| Shots per guest | 36 eachUnlimited with the add-on | UnlimitedPlus screenshots, memes and duplicates |
| Retakes and deleting | NoneThe shot is in the roll the moment it is taken | YesPhotos are chosen and edited before upload |
| Who curates | NobodyEvery frame from every guest opens together | Each guest, then the hostUsually the flattering ones |
| Getting the photos | One tapEveryone can save the whole roll to a camera roll | VariesPer-photo saves, or a host export |
| Best for | A single nightWeddings, parties, one-off celebrations | Ongoing groupsTrips, families, teams |
| Price | One-time, per eventFree up to 5 guests | Free or subscriptionStorage limits apply |
When a shared album is the better choice
If the group will keep adding photos for weeks, a shared album wins. A ten-day trip, a family that wants one place for a year of birthdays, a team that photographs every offsite: those are albums. Kept rolls close. That is a feature at a wedding and a limitation on a holiday, though plenty of people run one Kept roll per day of a trip for the morning reveal.
A shared album also wins if you need photos during the event, for a live slideshow on a screen behind the dance floor, for example. Kept has no live view by design.
When Kept is the better choice
- You want people to look at each other rather than at a feed.
- You want the unflattering, unposed, un-deleted version of the night, from everyone at once.
- You do not want to ask two hundred guests to install anything or sign in to anything.
- You want a fixed price for the night rather than a subscription. Kept is one payment, from free to $69.99.
- You want a moment the next morning when the whole roll opens, for everyone, at the same time.
Using both
Some hosts run both: a shared album for the photographer’s highlights and the toasts, and a Kept roll for what the guests saw. The album is the record. The roll is the surprise.
Questions
Is Kept a shared album?
Do guests need to download an app to use Kept?
Can the host see the photos before everyone else?
How much does Kept cost?
Can I run Kept alongside iCloud or Google Photos?
Give everyone a camera. Take away the screen.
Free for your first 5 guests. Your first roll takes about a minute to set up, and nobody has to install anything.