Cloud Compute · Optional
In a hurry? Let the cloud do the heavy lifting.
Project Kestrel is free and runs entirely on your own machine — always. But when you've got a huge backlog or a slow laptop, Cloud Compute sends your photos to fast GPUs running the exact same pipeline, then sends the results right back. Up to 5–10× faster, and completely optional.
Analyzing a 2,000-photo backlog
Up to 5–10× faster end-to-end · up to 3 GPUs in parallel · cloud time depends on your upload speed.
Local stays free. Always.
The desktop app is fully functional with no account, no internet, and no cloud — and it always will be. Cloud Compute is a completely optional accelerator. Nothing about your free, private, fully-local workflow has to change.
How it works
Same analysis. Same results. A fraction of the time.
Your upload is split across up to three parallel GPUs running the exact same Project Kestrel pipeline — then merged back, identical to a local run.
When it earns its keep
Built for the big imports.
Local analysis is perfect for everyday outings. Cloud Compute is for the moments when waiting isn't an option.
It runs the same models far faster because it runs them on hardware most laptops don't have — and in parallel. The bigger your backlog, the more time it gives back.
Reach for it when…
- You're sitting on a months-long backlog and want it cleared overnight.
- Your laptop is slow, fanless, or you'd rather not tie it up for hours.
- You just got back from a big trip and want the keepers today.
- You're on the road and don't want to drain your battery on a long analysis.
Privacy by design
Your photos are deleted the moment they're analyzed.
Your source images are protected by three independent safeguards — so they're deleted fast, and stay deleted even if something breaks.
Primary deletion
The instant your finished analysis is returned, every source image is hard-deleted from our storage.
Failure sweep
If a job ever crashes mid-flight, an automatic cleanup deletes every image it touched.
Storage expiry
A storage-level lifecycle policy expires anything left behind, no matter what.
Your results are deleted the moment your computer downloads them — or after 30 days if you never do.
All we ever keep is job records — counts and timestamps for billing. Never your images, results, or even the filenames you uploaded.
Read the full Cloud Compute image lifecycle in our Privacy Policy.
Simple, optional pricing
Start free. Subscribe only if you want the speed.
Every new Project Kestrel account, no card required.
For photographers who lean on the cloud regularly.
For heavy shooters and big, frequent backlogs.
Clear a backlog with a single purchase — no subscription. Coming soon.
It's 100% optional — and it's the only thing funding Project Kestrel. The app itself stays free and open source for everyone, forever.
See current plans and pricing in your account portal.
The free app handles the everyday. The cloud handles the avalanche.
Keep working locally for free — and reach for Cloud Compute the day you need your backlog gone fast.