What to Do With Old Photos: 4 Options Compared
Old photos have four possible paths: keep them, digitize them, share them, or let them go. The order matters more than the choice itself. Digitize first, because a scanned copy makes every later decision reversible. With a phone app that captures a whole album page, up to six prints in one shot, a 40-page album takes about an evening.
Why the first step is always a scan
A print exists exactly once. If it is thrown away, water-damaged or lost in a move, nothing brings it back. With a digital copy you can hand the original to a cousin and still look at the picture, or discard the fifth copy of the same beach scene and keep the file.
Scanning first also takes the pressure off. You no longer have to decide the fate of every print on the same afternoon.
Option 1: Keep the prints and store them well
Keeping costs the least money and the most shelf space. Prints survive for decades when they are stored dry, dark and cool. The US National Archives advises a temperature below 75°F (24°C) and a relative humidity under 65 percent, and warns against attics, basements and garages.
What you need: acid-free boxes or sleeves, and no rubber bands, tape or self-stick "magnetic" albums. Effort: one afternoon to re-box and label. Cost: a few archival boxes, a one-time purchase. The full storage checklist is in the article on how to preserve and organize old photos.
Option 2: Digitize the prints
There are three ways to do it, and they differ mainly in time and price.
A phone app is the fastest route for albums. You photograph each page as it is, and the software finds the individual prints, crops them and straightens them. No photo leaves the album. The guide on scanning a photo album without removing the photos shows the setup with a lamp and a table.
A flatbed scanner gives the highest resolution and suits loose prints you may want to enlarge. It needs a computer, and each page is placed on the glass by hand, so plan several minutes per page.
A mail-in service does the work for you. You ship the box and receive files. Prices are per photo or per album page and are listed on each provider's website.
Albumbox is one of the app options. It runs on iPhone and Android. Scanning, viewing, labeling and saving single photos cost nothing; exporting whole albums at once needs Plus, at 39.99 USD per year or 79.99 USD once for three years (as of October 2026). The details are on the pricing page.
Option 3: Share the pictures with the family
A scanned album can reach siblings, children and grandchildren the same day. Effort: a few minutes per album once the scans exist. Cost: nothing beyond the scanning itself if you send a link or an email.
Two things make sharing work. Keep the album order, because people recognize a page faster than a loose file. And write down who is in the picture while someone still knows. In Albumbox you can add date, place and names to one photo or several at once, and share a whole album as a link that opens in any browser, with no app and no account on the other end.
Option 4: Let some of them go
Not every print deserves a box. Typical candidates: duplicates, blurred shots, and landscapes without people or place names.
Before discarding, ask the family once. A print that bores you may be the only picture someone else has of a grandparent. Photos of a town, a club or a workplace are sometimes welcome at local history societies or municipal archives; ask before you send anything.
Photo paper is coated, so it usually belongs in household trash rather than paper recycling; check your local rules. If whole albums have to go, the article on what to do with old photo albums covers moving, downsizing and inherited collections.
The four options at a glance
| Option | Time for one album | Cost | What you give up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep and store | One afternoon to re-box | Archival boxes, one-time purchase | Shelf space; no copy if the box is damaged |
| Digitize with a phone app | About an evening | Scanning itself nothing; bulk export with Plus, 39.99 USD per year (as of October 2026) | Some resolution compared with a flatbed scanner |
| Digitize with a flatbed scanner | Several hours | Scanner, one-time purchase | Time; the album has to fit on the glass |
| Digitize via a mail-in service | Days to weeks of shipping | Per photo or per page, see provider | The prints leave the house for a while |
| Share | Minutes per album, once scanned | Nothing beyond scanning | Nothing |
| Let go | One evening of sorting | Nothing | The print, permanently |
A sensible order for one weekend
- Collect every box and album in one room and count the albums.
- Scan the albums page by page, in order. Leave the prints where they are.
- Add names, dates and places while relatives are reachable by phone.
- Share the scanned albums and ask who wants which originals.
- Store what stays in acid-free boxes. Discard duplicates last.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do with old family photos no one wants?
Scan them first, then offer the originals to relatives in one message with a link to the scans. What nobody claims can go to a local archive if it shows a place or an event, or into household trash. The digital copy stays either way.
Can old photos be recycled?
Most prints are plastic-coated photo paper and are not accepted in paper recycling. In most places they go into household trash. Check your local rules, because programs differ.
What is the cheapest way to digitize old photos?
A phone you already own costs the least. In Albumbox, scanning and viewing need no purchase, and bulk export is part of Plus at 39.99 USD per year (as of October 2026). A mail-in service charges per photo but takes none of your time.
If you want to start today, scan the first album page with Albumbox on your phone; the result shows what the rest of the box will look like.
