Global photo-level comments instead of album-specific comments

[alice2o25]

I have searched the existing feature requests, both open and closed, to make sure this is not a duplicate request.

• Yes

The feature

Currently, comments in Immich are tied to the album context, not to the photo itself.

If the same photo is added to multiple albums, comments only appear in the album where they were written. We have to repeat the same comment or discussion in every album.

This feels counterintuitive because it’s the same asset.

Descriptions are not a replacement, since they are static and not meant for conversations. Comments are interactive and allow discussion.

It would be useful to have photo-level (global) comments that stay attached to the asset across all albums, while album-specific comments could still exist for context if needed.

This would improve usability for shared albums and collaboration.

Global photo comments instead of album-specific comments

Platform

• Server
• Web
• Mobile

[v-marinkov]

I also share your sentiment but the discussion you had here also has a point. I would like Immich to feel more "social" for a family-shared photo gallery, but you would also like to share albums with friends, and I won't necessarily want the family comments on photos in a given album to be shared with others.

I suppose a solution might be to keep album-specific comments as a default, but allow for an album-wide toggle which will enable global comments - i.e. pulling existing and allowing users to add new global comments for each photo.

This would mean creating a global comment functionality for individual photos, which shouldn't be a problem. Additionally, it would be good for the owner to be able to make "private" comments on photos - both global and album-specific.