Q&A

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TorchPhoto is an iOS app designed to help you browse photos and videos stored on servers you add with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV, including NAS devices and personal servers. It focuses more on photo and video viewing than a typical file explorer.

TorchPhoto can work as a server-based viewer for photos and videos captured on iPhone or iPad, and it also lets you upload selected items to the directory you want on your server. With Shortcuts, you can build automatic upload flows using triggers that match your own routine. TorchPhoto also remembers generated thumbnails and directory paths, so you can review your server library in an offline-friendly way after thumbnails have been prepared. Some features are supported more completely in PRO.

When you add a server in TorchPhoto, you can choose FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV as the connection method. Pick the method that matches your NAS or personal server, then browse, upload, and manage your photo and video library through that server connection.

Use the Wi-Fi Gallery Share feature. Long-press the server you want to share from the server list, then share the gallery. On any device, you can open it in a web browser such as Safari or Chrome and enjoy an efficient gallery viewer that loads thumbnails first, then switches to the original image. Thumbnails are generated on the iOS device, and the original files are downloaded and displayed naturally. If Video Pairing is enabled in TorchPhoto settings, this feature can also provide a Live Photo-like experience even in web browsers on devices that do not support Live Photos.

Yes. In the Local Wi-Fi Gallery feature, tap the displayed URL to edit the port. This is useful if the default port is already in use or if you want to set a different port for your local sharing environment.

TorchPhoto mainly supports file extensions used when capturing or playing photos and videos on iPhone and iPad. TorchPhoto is not a general-purpose media player designed to play every type of media file. Instead, it focuses on helping you upload iOS-supported photo and video files to a server you add with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV, then browse them quickly and conveniently. For this reason, supported formats are based on file extensions commonly used in the iOS environment, so the app can run reliably, generate thumbnail caches with less storage, and provide an optimized browsing experience.

While a typical file transfer app focuses on file management, TorchPhoto focuses more on media browsing with features like photo and video viewing, thumbnail generation, offline thumbnail browsing, QR sharing, metadata viewing, and slideshow.

TorchPhoto is optimized to stay lightweight and efficient, helping save storage space on your iOS device. The app itself is kept as small as possible, and it also includes an app data cleanup feature to reduce unnecessary storage usage. Although TorchPhoto has a relatively small app size compared to the number of features it offers, its features are designed to work together smoothly and reliably.

User-generated thumbnails are now stored locally on the iOS device as app data instead of temporary cache files. This prevents TorchPhoto thumbnails from being automatically removed by iOS storage cleanup. When launching the latest version, TorchPhoto will automatically migrate existing thumbnail data from the previous cache location to the new app data location. You can still use the Backup & Restore feature in Settings to move or recover thumbnail data when needed.

No. TorchPhoto is not a separate cloud storage service. It connects directly to servers you add with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV, so you can view photos and videos stored on your own storage.

Yes. If your NAS supports FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV access, choose that method when adding the server in TorchPhoto. It works well with NAS devices such as Synology and QNAP that can enable one of these connection methods.

Yes. Photos and videos in the same folder can be displayed together, so mixed media folders can be browsed naturally like an album.

Yes. You can use both grid and list layouts while browsing folders depending on your preference.

Yes. The app supports video preview and playback so you can immediately check clips stored on the server.

Yes. Search and sorting are supported, making it easier to focus on photos only or videos only when needed.

Yes. For supported files, you can check metadata such as capture time and location. Files without location data show time information only.

Yes. You can select photos and videos and upload them to the folder you want on a server added with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV, including multiple files at once.

Yes. Inside a folder, tap the menu button in the top-right corner and choose Upload. The photo selection screen opens for the current server and current folder, so the selected photos and videos can be uploaded immediately to that exact location.

Yes. You can review successful and failed upload records in the Upload Log.

Yes. You can download photos and videos stored on the server to your iPhone or iPad.

If the app appears in the App Store on your device, you can use the iPad-designed version and its features on Mac as well.

Yes. It supports sharing through the iOS share sheet, and you can also share directly from the video preview screen.

Generating thumbnails in advance allows faster and lighter browsing even in large folders or on slow networks. With instant thumbnail generation, TorchPhoto can create quick previews by downloading only part of the original file first, which improves speed and storage efficiency without requiring full original downloads for every thumbnail.

Low prioritizes speed, so thumbnails can be generated as quickly as possible, but a small number of thumbnails may fail. High is slower than Low, but it can slightly improve the success rate for files that need more data to create an instant thumbnail. If an instant thumbnail still fails, you can use TorchPhoto's high-quality thumbnail improvement feature to generate it reliably later.

Yes. Folders can be displayed as thumbnail items when thumbnails have already been generated inside them. This makes it easier to recognize folders that are ready for thumbnail-based browsing.

If instant thumbnail generation is enabled, TorchPhoto first creates fast, efficient low-quality thumbnails from partial original data. Later, you can select the items you want and improve them into TorchPhoto's standard high-quality thumbnails. This lets both Free and PRO users save storage and data first, then upgrade only the thumbnails that need clearer detail.

Instant thumbnails are optimized for speed and capacity savings, so they can look much lower quality in widget-style views. If you want to use specific items in widgets or slideshow-style displays, improve those selected thumbnails to TorchPhoto high-quality thumbnails first.

Yes. Once generated and cached, thumbnails remain viewable even when there is no internet or the server is not connected.

Yes. Since it uses thumbnail-based browsing, it is useful for quickly checking visual previews even in weak or unstable signal conditions.

Yes. Thumbnail Share lets you share light and fast preview images instead of originals. It is useful for sample delivery or quick selection work.

Yes. Generated thumbnails can be displayed in iOS widgets, and slideshow playback is supported for digital-frame style use.

Yes. Even when photo and video files are stored separately on servers added with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV, TorchPhoto helps you browse them more naturally together.

In the pairing video viewer, press and hold the Live Photo video, then tap Save Live Photo at the bottom. (The pairing viewer feature is available in PRO.)

Yes. As long as each person has access permissions, they can browse the same server library on their own device, whether the server is added with FTP, SFTP, SMB, or WebDAV.

Yes. The Share QR feature lets you send server connection info as a QR code, so another user can register the server more easily without manual typing.

Yes. If the host and port combination is different, it is treated as a different server, and caches and browsing data are managed separately.

Yes. You can delete cache per server, and you can also clear the cache for all servers at once.

Yes. TorchPhoto is designed to work on both iPhone and iPad.

Free provides the core TorchPhoto experience, while PRO removes key limits for more comfortable browsing of larger libraries. Free can register 1 server and has up to 100MB of thumbnail cache, while PRO supports unlimited registered servers and unlimited thumbnail cache. PRO also includes video pairing, large video thumbnail generation, slideshow, and no time limit on thumbnail sharing.