Offline vs Cloud AI Culling: Where Your Wedding Files Go

What "offline" can mean

"Offline culling" can mean three different things, and vendors use the word for each. Ask which one you need before comparing tools.

1. Local analysis: the scoring runs on your CPU or GPU and images are not sent anywhere for it.
2. Works without internet: the app functions with no connection, perhaps after sign-in or activation.
3. Nothing leaves, ever: no upload for any feature, including learning or profile training.

A tool can satisfy the first and not the third. Most of the confusion on this subject comes from that gap.

Where your files go

Where your files go depends on the tool and, for several tools, on the feature: the table below sets out what each vendor says runs locally and what can leave your machine, and the notes after it cover conflicts and unreadable pages.

All entries are as of 8 November 2026 and are vendor statements, not verified here. Where a cell says "not stated", the page read was silent; that is not a finding that the tool differs from the others.

Tool notes

Aftershoot: the trigger and opt-out are published; one conflict remains. The transparency page says batch culling, editing and retouching are processed locally. It names the exceptions: with learning on, culling sends small-resolution versions to Aftershoot's servers for scoring and retraining, which you can turn off at album import (the "Help improve Aftershoot's AI" toggle); and custom editing-profile training uploads the images you choose. It says data is stored on Google Cloud and deleted on request, generally in 7 to 14 days. The homepage separately says files never leave your machine and that images are never stored on Aftershoot's servers (a homepage statement only). The privacy policy, last updated July 2023, says images and edits collected by Aftershoot are used solely for training its models and will never be resold or redistributed, and that you can ask for deletion. It does not say which product behaviours that collection covers, so the homepage line and the policy remain in conflict, and this page draws no conclusion about client confidentiality. Aftershoot's terms of service: source inaccessible (404). See the Aftershoot review.

Narrative: local culling, uploading training. Culling is local per the Select page; Personal AI Preset training is a separate path that, per the same Select page, uploads edited images and edit data. Sharing image previews to improve Narrative is optional and off by default. Narrative's privacy policy is dated 2022 and was read as silent on AI training and face data, and its terms returned 404. See the Narrative Select review.

FilterPixel: hybrid. FilterPixel says on its homepage that original files never leave your computer and only a small embedded preview from each RAW is uploaded, and its blog says the policy is to delete after processing. Its privacy policy and terms returned 404 when opened, so those are source inaccessible. There is no operative training sentence to quote.

Imagen: cloud. Editing depends on uploads. Culling: not stated. The privacy policy names AWS and Google Cloud as providers and says content is stored until you request deletion. Whether customer images train Imagen's general models: not found in sources reviewed, though the policy says personal information may be used "for quality assurance and for development and enhancement of the Service". Support site and Terms: source inaccessible. See the Imagen culling review and Aftershoot vs Imagen.

Excire Foto: local by the vendor's account; see the Excire Foto review.

Faces

Several culling tools zoom on faces, group people or check eyes. Some, such as Narrative's People Filter, are described as Mac-only on its Select page. Whether any vendor treats this as biometric processing: not found in sources reviewed for these tools. Biometric rules vary by jurisdiction and this is not legal advice; if you shoot in a place with strict rules, ask the vendor in writing how face features work and where.

Upload time: do the arithmetic for your connection

Upload time for a cloud step depends on how much leaves and your upstream speed. The size of the preview each tool uploads: not found in sources reviewed.

Example (arithmetic with hypothetical inputs, not a measurement): one wedding of 3,000 frames. If each uploaded preview were 1 MB, the upload would be about 3 GB, or 24,000 megabits. At 20 Mbps upstream that is 1,200 seconds (20 minutes); at 100 Mbps it is 240 seconds (4 minutes). At 45 weddings a year, multiply by 45.

To replace the hypothetical numbers with real ones, run one test shoot with a network monitor open and read the total bytes sent.

Should client files go in at all?

This page draws no conclusion that any tool is safe for client files; where terms conflict or could not be read, that cannot be said. The questions to ask are: what is uploaded, for which feature, how long is it kept, and can it be used for training. A September 2025 post by one author on the ASMP Colorado site says that, by default, client assets should not be used for training or fine-tuning without a written licence covering scope, security, dataset isolation and deletion timelines (ASMP Colorado post); it is not legal advice and not stated as chapter policy. Check your own client contract and your own jurisdiction's rules before choosing a cloud tool.

Check this in your trial

1. Open your operating system's network activity view, cull a test folder, and read total bytes sent.
2. Cull again with the network disconnected, after signing in beforehand, and note what fails.
3. Find the learning toggle: is it on by default, where is it set, and does turning it off change features?
4. Ask the vendor in writing whether face features run locally.
5. Check what happens to uploaded data on cancellation, and request deletion in a test.
6. Compare the vendor's statement with what the monitor showed, and note any difference.

Original test pending: on a licensed wedding gallery per our method, we would measure bytes uploaded and upload time per 1,000 frames on a stated connection, and record offline behaviour for each tool. Test gallery rules are on test galleries and licensing.

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